Powers Within
by Karristan
Summary: When Tatsuki loses her closest friend to another man's hope for an advantage she is given the option of getting stronger so she can protect her friend. Without a thought of hesitation she agrees to Yoruichi's training not truly knowing what she'll be put through. All that matters to her is Orihime and all she knows is that a war is coming to Karakura and she has to be ready for it.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer::I own nothing but half the idea. lol**

**Chapter 01: Something different**

Tatsuki let out an exasperated sigh while she stared out the classroom window at the cloudless sky. It was Friday evening and school was about to be let out for the day. Normally she would be excited to have the next two days to laze around and do nothing but hang out with her friends. The only problem was the one person that she wanted to hang out with had disappeared and shortly after that had happened the only people she could question about the situation had also disappeared leaving her with only a large amount of questions.

She had gotten some answers however, she knew where her best friend was and that she was in danger but there was nothing that she could do. Tatsuki was completely useless to her friend right now but the moment they reunite she would do anything she could for her friend because she cared more for her best friend then she had ever led her to believe or anyone for that matter. Tatsuki loved her on a more intimate level than just the platonic friendship that she claimed to have.

It had never been noticed by anyone as it was a well-kept secret and the words that conveyed her true feelings she had never once allowed to pass her lips. Not once had she considered testing their friendship with these unrequited feelings. The other girl wasn't interested in her on a non-platonic level nor was she interested in girls on any level other than friendship and she never would be. The other girl was straight and that was known to all her friends and as far as they knew Tatsuki was the same way.

For a long time Tatsuki had kept her feelings to herself with the fear of losing them once they were exposed to others. It may seem like a trivial whim to some but to Tatsuki her feelings for that girl were so deep within her that to lose them now would be the same as losing a part of herself so the thought of losing these feelings was a devastating thought that she didn't even dare to consider but with the disappearance of her dear friend the thought of losing these feelings or even the girl continued to reoccur in her mind and tormented her without pause.

Even now sitting in class her mind was filled with that special girl that she wanted so desperately to hold in her arms and protect. She would do anything just to have the ability to do even one of those things but here she sat, powerless to do anything for the girl she would gladly give her own life for without a second thought or the briefest of hesitation. Her life was nothing in comparison to that other girl and she wouldn't have any argument or any complaints if she had to sacrifice herself for the sake of the other girl.

The bell rang throughout the school and the students began to pack up their things so that they could hurry home but Tatsuki remained in her seat until the class emptied before she started to pack up her things. Everything had been different for her lately and she even felt different, almost stronger now. It was strange since her usual training had remained the same as ever and there was no difference in intensity nor was there a change in difficulty in any aspect of it. At first she had just thought it was just the fact that there was less pressure about keeping her feelings locked away so tightly around her friend but lately she had determined it was something else entirely.

Tatsuki finished packing up the last of her things before heading out of the classroom and into the near deserted hallways of the school. The only students that remained lingering were going off to their individual clubs or taking their time to go home. Recently she had gotten into the habit of leaving class after everyone had gone so she wouldn't have to bother with any of her friends that were growing concerned about her depressed state and so that it was easier for her to clear her mind and concentrate on the strange power that had begun to stir inside her recently. She had only really noticed it mid last week when she had awoke one night to find everything in her room scattered around as if something had gotten in and thrown everything around.

It wasn't the first time that something like that had happened and she had woken up in the midst of it taking place. A crash had woken and startled her making her look around her room to find that everything that had been close to her bed had been thrown to the other side of the room while some of it even seemed to be burnt. She had no way of explaining it properly to her parents when they barged into her room frantically as they demanded explanations that she couldn't give them.

Ever since that night she hadn't slept well and every time she woke up she feared a new arrangement in her room. Everything that was happening to her frightened her and she had no answers for it though she knew a man that might have the answers she sought but no matter what was happening to her she feared going to the man for answers more than anything that could happen to her while she slept. She didn't want to know what was wrong with her and nothing good could come of that man she hardly knew.

It wasn't like she knew how to find him either, the whole explanation he had given her had all been in a dream however it was real and Keigo had been given the same explanation from the same man but neither of them knew where the explanation had taken place, it had just happened and they woke up the next day in their own beds as if it never even happened. They didn't recall where they had gone the previous night and their questions on the matter soon faded away along with the name and face of the man. Just the explanation and his existence remained for both of them to remember.

Tatsuki left the school in a slight hurry so she could go home and try and figure things out on her own without the help of some strange men she didn't know or trust. When she neared the gate she noticed a tall, dark skinned woman leaning against the side and watched the school intently as if waiting for someone. The woman's eyes fell on Tatsuki causing a shiver to slowly crawl down her spine making her nervous about walking past her. The woman smiled slyly at her and gave off an odd resemblance of a cat that Tatsuki felt was oddly fitting for the strange woman. She wore tight black clothing and an orange jacket while her purple hair was tied in a high ponytail.

"I was waiting for you." The woman said with a smirk.

Tatsuki stopped dead in her tracks and looked around but there was nobody else there, "Are you talking to me?"

"Of course I was talking to you, human." The woman said slyly. "There is no one else here."

"What do you want from me?" Tatsuki asked while the woman approached her.

The woman came to a stop in front of her and said, "I assume you have noticed it by now, the power that's started to awaken within you."

Tatsuki took a step back in her fear of this woman, "What are you talking about?"

"Don't play dumb, your nervousness gives you away." The woman said. "I'm here to offer you help in controlling this power. It's your choice on whether or not you want to wake up in fear every night because of this power however."

"What?" Tatsuki asked nervously. "How do you know about that?"

"I've been keeping an eye on you ever since this has started to grow inside of you." The woman said. "It's grown enough now for you to control it and expand and even use it."

Tatsuki stood speechless at the woman's words that shocked her just as much as this power did. The woman continued to smile slyly down at her, "Come, I'll explain things on the way."

The woman turned and left leaving Tatsuki standing there completely shocked while the woman walked away from her along with any answers that Tatsuki had. She took in a nervous breath and hurried to catch up with her. She wanted answers to many questions and she couldn't deny that the woman's proposal had intrigued her. If she could control this power then she could protect the girl she loved and this assured her that she would no longer be kept in the dark about anything that she had been confused about in the past and even now.

The two made their way down the street in silence much to Tatsuki's annoyance. She had been promised answers but was getting none from the woman but her nervousness was preventing her from asking any questions. This woman knew too much about what was going on for her liking while she didn't know a thing about this woman, even her name was unknown to her so to ask for an explanation was currently out of the question. First she needed to know who this woman was, "Who are you exactly?"

"My name is Shihouin, Yoruichi." The woman answered.

"Why were you waiting for me?" Tatsuki asked.

"You need to learn how to control your powers before you hurt yourself or others." Yoruichi said glancing at Tatsuki out of the corner of her eye while she paused. "Your powers are developing nicely on their own right now but you lack control over them. With the proper guidance and training you could be of use to us."

"What do you mean 'of use'?" Tatsuki asked. "You want to use me?"

"Not exactly, think of it more along the lines of recruitment, you have amazing potential and are the best option for what we need right now." Yoruichi explained. "You already know how to fight so I won't have to train you how to fight in unarmed combat but you will need to learn how to fight with weapons. If possible I would like to make you a lot faster but that will be difficult for you to achieve."

"Define weapons." Tatsuki said. "Are you talking about guns?"

"Katana, short swords, knives or whatever you want to use." Yoruichi said. "I can have you trained in any form of combat with almost any weapon but your training will be long and very intense since we are short on time."

"What if I don't want to do this?" Tatsuki asked despite her deep intrigue on this new situation and the possibilities it held for her.

"Then go home right now." Yoruichi said while stopping to face her. "If you continue on and do this training then you will become very strong but you will also have a responsibility with this power. Once you start the training you will have only one opportunity to back out but that will be when you have control of your power. If you want to continue after that than you can't go back."

"I want to do this." Tatsuki said with determination.

Yoruichi smiled at her and walked towards the store they were standing in front of as she said, "Good because we start right now. You'll get a full explanation when we take a break and no sooner than that."

Tatsuki took a deep breath to give herself courage before following Yoruichi into the store. She was unsure why they were going into a store and how this had anything to do with her training but she wouldn't ask any more questions right now and she knew that she had to trust this woman even if she didn't know anything about this woman other than her name that she found oddly familiar but was from an unknown origin that she couldn't trace or identify.

She followed the woman through the shop but was hesitant in continuing past the off limits area but was simply motioned forward by Yoruichi so she followed her until they came to a stop at the end of a hallway where a trapdoor was lifted up before they met eyes once more, "Your training will take place in the basement. When you get down there be on your guard, I want to see how strong you are right now. Consider it a small test."

"A test?" Tatsuki asked and received only a nod. "Great."

The woman smiled and hopped down the small hole leaving Tatsuki with even more questions than before. She had no idea what this test was going to be but she hoped that she could handle it because if she was expected to control her power and use it then nothing would be accomplished other than a fruitless attempt at grasping something far out of her reach. There was no telling what this power she had even was or what she could really do with it.

Tatsuki let out a sigh and crouched down to look into the darkness to find that there was no way of knowing how far it really went but it couldn't be too far if Yoruichi had hopped down like it was nothing. She glanced at the ladder in consideration of whether she should use it or just hop down as well but quickly decided on using the ladder since she hadn't heard anything to determine the actual depth of the basement and she didn't even hear Yoruichi's landing though she did seem like the type to be quiet on her feet and could have landed silently though Tatsuki wasn't about to chance it.

She started down the ladder and was quickly consumed by darkness hindering her progress out of nervousness. Just to find the rungs she had to blindly search along the wall and soon found that the distance between each rung seemed to vary but it was still manageable all the same. A cool breeze travelled down the shaft making Tatsuki move closer to the ladder with a nervous shudder. She glanced up and found only darkness as making her wonder if the trapdoor had been closed. Tatsuki took a deep breath finding that her body was beginning to freeze with fear so she slowly glanced down and found nothing but darkness waiting for her. All she could do was try to gather her courage and continue on in hopes that the bottom was close.

Tatsuki continued on as fast as she dared but her arms were quickly becoming tired. She let out a sigh of relief when she found that the distance in the rungs were starting to become more regular encouraging her to look down and find a slight light below her. That tiny light encouraged her to quicken her pace and reach the bottom while it continued to grow brighter the closer she got to it. The moment she reached the dim light she felt a strange feeling inside of her but it wasn't the power that was awakening inside her, it was the fact that she was finally getting closer to everything that had bothered her lately. Answers lied at the bottom of this shaft and she would finally have them in her grasp.

The light quickly chased away the darkness and Tatsuki almost felt happy that she was away from the darkness until she looked down and all the strength left her arms at the distance she still had left. There was a very long way to go and she had lost all courage to continue on making her press her body closer to the wall in fear of falling and losing her life. She was now beyond grateful for using the ladder instead of jumping down ignorantly to what easily would have been a quick death upon impact.

While she stayed frozen in place she couldn't help but question why she was doing this now. Was her thirst for power so strong within herself that she would trust a complete stranger? No, that's not why she was doing this, she was doing this to protect the girl she loved more than anything in the whole world. All she wanted was to hold her or protect her and Yoruichi was giving her that opportunity to acquire the strength to do one of those things and she had yet to find the strength within herself to convey her feelings to the girl so she would never be able to hold her the way she longed to.

Tatsuki was doing this for that girl more than for answers or any promised strength though it was tempting. She knew the power she would gain from this would allow her to protect the girl she loved so she would go along with this training no matter how harsh it was. _We don't have much time,_ the woman's words echoed through Tatsuki's mind making her remember just how much she missed her best friend. A new wave of determination washed through her giving her arms the strength to continue on with a quicker pace than before and she was focused solely on protecting that one girl from harm. It didn't matter what it took, nothing would stop Tatsuki from protecting her. This would become her mission in life more than it already was.

She continued on with more ease now since her mind was focused on her goal and gave her the encouragement to move forward in the voice of her most cherished friend. Soon she had only a quarter of the way left to go and she felt more encouraged to look around but through her amazement of the sight she saw no trace of the woman that had brought her here. It wouldn't be much longer before her feet were on the ground and she would be that much closer to getting the answers she was craving but she had no idea where to go from here.

Tatsuki let out a relieved sigh when she found that she was about fifteen feet off the ground. Never had she felt that these answers were so close to her and with each rung on the ladder past her the better she felt about herself. Tatsuki took a look around and took in the odd landscape of this 'basement' and found it resembled a desert like canyon, there was a sky, dirt, and even rocks that varied in size and shape. This was definitely a strange place and she half expected some sort of animal to actually live down here in this underground habitat. The only thing missing was the heat, the temperature was in fact rather cool but then, it only looked like a desert.

She stopped for a moment and looked for Yoruichi but found no sign of her anywhere around. The more she looked around the more she wondered if this was part of her test. She contemplated the possibility while she continued down the latter more cautiously. A loud howl echoed throughout the large room making her stop in her decent and quickly turned to look for the source of the how in case whatever made it was close. The sound of it made her fear picked up at an alarming rate and she felt that she had heard a similar sound before but couldn't place it in her memory at all.

The howl was nowhere near natural or anything she had ever heard from any animal before. There was a bit of movement in the distance that she couldn't quite make out causing her to lean out a bit and squint in hopes of making out whatever it was. It was definitely too big to be human or even an animal. Her grip was firm on the ladder to assure her balance on it but when she leaned out all the way the rung she was holding onto seemed to disappear in her grasp.

She groped desperately for the ladder noticing that all the rungs she could grad had disappeared leaving only the side and the one she stood on. She fell backwards for the last ten feet in a matter of seconds but it had felt much longer like all panicked falls tend to. She hit the ground hard and rolled over to relieve the pressure on her back. Halfway over though she noticed a rack that caught her attention that contained various weapons along with a note that was pinned in plain view for her to see like her fall was predicted.

Tatsuki remained on her side for a moment to allow the pain of her fall to fade away before she got up and approached the rack. She looked at each weapon in turn while partially ignoring the note. The howl and the creature that made the noise was concerning to her and was clearly part of her test. She picked up a katana and gave it a few practice swings to try and get a feel for it but was unable to making her put it back and turn her gaze on a short sword beside the katanas.

She took that next and swung it around and found it much easier to keep her balance and that she had a much nicer handle with it. Her gaze went to the note next as she picked it up while keeping a tight grip on the short sword in case whatever she would have to face attacked her while she was reading the note which contained her small task;

_Pick any weapon you think you can handle. Everything that you will need is here for you to take and use. You will find a change of clothes as well unless you plan on training in what you're in now. You only have fifteen minutes from when you hit the ground to prepare yourself then you need to leave or you will be in danger. Your task is simply to survive._

Tatsuki looked back at the rack and found a small wooden chest beside it. She estimated that she had already lost several minutes to time and had to hurry before she was attacked by whatever was down here. The short sword was placed back on the rack as she went to the chest and quickly retrieved the black kimono inside of it. This wasn't something she was used to wearing but it was better than doing this in a skirt so it would have to do.

She took a quick look around to make sure no one was around to watch before taking off her shirt and putting on the top part of the robe to cover the rest of her body. It took her a few minutes to change and she was getting even more nervous in the situation. Another howl was heard clearly in the empty open area making her stop what she was doing and look around once more but saw no movement at all so she brought her focus back to her current task at hand.

Her clothing was quickly folded and placed in the chest before removing the few pieces of armor that was also left for her. She quickly strapped it to her arms under the robe before going back to the rack and taking the short sword which was quickly slid under her sash so that it was on an angle on her back. When another loud howl was heard Tatsuki glanced back at the rack with consideration and took another short sword and placed it opposite of the other one.

Some small knives also caught her eye when the last of her free time ran out. She quickly grabbed a few of them and left the rack behind her. She held the knives in her hands but didn't know where to put them. Her eyes fell on the armor she wore and decided that may be the best option if she were disarmed. She slid two visibly in her sash and held the other two in her mouth while she loosened the armor just enough to hide a knife under each but she was careful to keep them hidden and placed so that they wouldn't cut her or the strap holding the armor on.

With that Tatsuki was confident that she was ready for whatever was waiting for her, until of course there was another howl and a loud noise followed closely by a cloud of dirt that was seen in the distance from behind a giant rock that almost formed a wall. Tatsuki stopped dead in her tracks and allowed her hand to rest on the hilt of one of the short swords before she continued onwards towards the raising dust while the only thing driving her forward was her hopes of protecting her beloved friend.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer::I own nothing but half the idea. lol**

**Chapter 02: The first task; Combat**

Tatsuki moved quickly and quietly in the cover of the rocks that she walked along it to find her way around them and face the creature on the other side. It wasn't aware of her presence yet and she was grateful for that. She wanted to be unknown to it until she at least knew what it was exactly and came up with a strategy against it along with the courage to face it since that was clearly the idea. The note only said to survive but she knew it was unlikely that she was supposed to run and hide from this thing unless it was necessary to do so.

Running away wouldn't make her stronger though, all it would do is waste time and there was no telling how long she was expected to stay down here for this training. Tatsuki wasn't exactly planning on sitting around in hiding until it was done either. For her to get stronger she would have to be willing to put her life in danger just like it would be when protecting others. At least right now she was on her own and didn't have to worry about protecting anyone.

Another loud howl sent shivers down her spine and made her press her body against the rock wall to make herself smaller and a little harder to spot. While she had her back pressed against the rock she began to get a small idea and she looked around in hopes of finding a way up and it wasn't long before she found a suitable place to climb. She went for it quickly while moving the knives on her sash to her side to prevent accidental injury before she began climbing up the cliff.

With every howl Tatsuki did her best to quicken her pace before her fear made her stop and possibly even fall. The only thing that was on her mind while she climbed was why she was doing this and what this would help her accomplish. Soon she was at the top and looking down at the creature that made these loud noises. So far any chance she had to see it she had given up out of nervousness and fear that would only further convince her that she couldn't do this.

Tatsuki made her way to the edge she unsheathed one of her short swords and stayed close to the ground. When she neared the far edge she got on the ground and crawled to make herself as small as possible so that she could peer down at whatever she was supposed to fight without being seen. From the commotion this thing was making it was not only big but strong as well. Tatsuki didn't want to take even the slightest of chances against this thing without having a good plan.

She peered out over the edge slowly and what she saw took away any courage she had to continue with this. In the small canyon surrounded by giant rock walls, keeping it trapped in this chasm, was a giant monster. It was hunched over and had the posture and build of a gorilla. The creature wore a white mask resembling a skull which sent shivers down Tatsuki's spine but what really startled her was the hole in the center of its chest that went straight through it.

Her heart beat loudly against her chest and her fear easily overcame her will to do anything but lie there and watch this things search for a way out. How was she even supposed to fight this thing? Tatsuki took in a deep breath and exhaled to try and calm herself so she could come up with a good strategy. The monster continued to thrash around while it attempted to escape its small prison. From the look of the creature it was more brawn then brain which was a good thing for Tatsuki since she had a good amount of both. Though if this creature was apelike in more than just appearance then its first instinct would be to climb out instead of trying to break its way out and it also didn't seem to be fast either and all of its muscle was clearly in its upper body giving it the apelike appeal.

Tatsuki blindly groped around for a rock or anything to throw and create a distraction. It wasn't long before she found one that was big enough and brought it closer to her and tried to find another one that would be good to use. When she found another one she brought that one closer to her as well while her gaze never left the creature and the creature never spotted her while it continued to try and find an escape on the other side of the chasm.

It howled once more and gave up its pursuit of an escape and stayed still and silent so Tatsuki took one of the rocks in her good hand and threw it as far as she could away from her and the creature. The moment it hit the ground the creature scrambled towards to like a starving dog going for meat. The moment it made its move Tatsuki knew that if this thing spotted her she would have no chance of survival.

All the blood drained from her face when the creature turned in her direction and their eyes met causing Tatsuki to completely lose her nerve. Her heart all but stopped as it howled and ran towards the cliff she was on and tried to get up the ledge as Tatsuki grabbed her short sword and tried to get to her feet as quick as possible to run away but she was soon at the far ledge and out of places to run. She looked back to find the creatures hand grasp the ledge and was soon followed by its other hand. The creature had found a way up and Tatsuki had nowhere to run.

Tatsuki's eyes widened with fear while she watched the creature pull itself up and their eyes met again leaving her frozen with fear. Neither broke the eye contact they held until the creature lost its balance and slipped down to the ground once more. Tatsuki glanced back down the edge behind her realising she could use this opportunity to escape while the creature wasn't looking even though it could surely outrun her with ease especially after the fall she would have to take and the possibly injury that would come with it. _Everything will be okay, Tatsuki._

That voice, she knew it, it warmed her heart and gave her some forgotten determination to go through with this. The grip on her sword tightened before she turned to face the creature properly while it struggled to get up again. Tatsuki took a deep breath and ran at the creature with as much courage that she could manage to grasp in hopes of accomplishing something and passing this task so that she could become stronger than she ever thought was possible for her. She would become stronger and she would protect the most important person in the world to her. She didn't have the luxury to fail that girl. That girl counted on her and she couldn't let her down anymore then she already had in the past.

She kept every move it made in mind while she looked for the best way to deal with it. The face was likely the most vulnerable since it was covered and it clearly didn't have a heart so that scratched out one critical spot to hit leaving only the head. A slight smirk formed on her face as she recalled all the zombie movies she had seen while in the company of her dear friend making her think back at all the times they had shared with one another which in turn gave her even more determination to get those times back.

The creature pulled itself up as Tatsuki lunged at it with complete confidence only to be caught by the creature before she could even get close to attacking it. She grit her teeth in anger while she tried relentlessly to free her arms and cut it. The creature climbed up the rest of the cliff and glared at her struggles in its hand that slowly crushed her in its tight grip. It pulled her closer to its opening mouth revealing its intention.

Tatsuki did all that she could to move her wrist around as much as she could to try and free herself. No matter how much she moved her wrist she couldn't inflict any damage to its hand. Her fear reached a new height when she was brought closer to the creatures mouth and felt as though her soul was being sucked out of her body and there was nothing she could do about it but remain in its hand and watch as she slowly lost her life.

Her vision blurred before she faintly heard the creature shriek in pain and soon dropped her while backing away. Tatsuki fell helplessly to the ground while the creature lost its balance at the edge of the cliff and fell resulting in a loud crash. Her strength felt as though it had been completely drained and she choked just trying to get air back in her body. She closed her eyes and tried to calm her fear while the creature tried desperately to get back up the cliff. Her life seemed to fade away from her with each passing second she laid there and the creature scrambled to get back to her and finish killing her.

"Are you giving up already?" A strangely familiar voice called. "You're weaker than I thought."

She barely managed to open her eyes and saw the woman from earlier standing over her looking off to the side in the direction of the creature before bringing her gaze back to Tatsuki, "Isn't there a reason that you're doing all this?"

Tatsuki's eyes widened with the recollection of every reason why she was going through all this. She wanted to become stronger for that one girl and so that one day she might be able to hold that girl in her arms and protect her the way she had always wanted to protect her. Her anger rose at her weakness and she gripped her weapon and struggled to get up to face the creature that had, once again, found its way up the cliff.

When its hand reached the ledge Tatsuki was ready for it even if she still felt weary from before. She ran at it the moment its face in her view and leapt off the edge with both short swords in hand. One blade was lodged in its neck for support and soon after she was viciously attacking its face with a rising anger and her thoughts of protecting her friend increased until it was all she thought about even when both she and the creature fell to the ground below.

She left one sword in its neck while she attacked it more violently hoping to kill it before it could attack her again. Her anger rose even more as it struggled to free itself. "Behind you."

Tatsuki heard the words but didn't listen and impaled the creature in the face causing it to howl loudly before it slowly started to disappear underneath her. Her anger began to fade away and she realized what was going on around her. All her thoughts slowed when she fell to the ground with the short sword falling away from the vanishing creature. Her breath was haggard and tears slowly formed in her eyes from thoughts of her beloved friend and she realized that the girl had vanished right out from under her just like this creature had.

"That was an impressive feat for a human." Yoruichi called from behind her. "You should be happy with what you've done."

"Happy, what the hell was that thing?" Tatsuki asked with a shaky voice while wiping away her tears.

"It's called a hollow, they feast on souls for nourishment." Yoruichi said simply. "This one was far weaker than the ones that took Orihime."

Tatsuki's eyes widened and she looked over at the woman, "What did you say?"

"I can assure you that the hollows that have taken Orihime have evolved beyond the need to devour souls." Yoruichi said. "I can't make you strong enough to fight those hollows, not in the time that we have but I can help you fight smaller ones."

"I want to get stronger." Tatsuki said with determination. "I want to protect Orihime. I'll give anything to protect her."

"I'm aware of that, it's the reason I approached you about this." Yoruichi said. "But for now rest, I will explain anything you want to know while you recuperate."

"I'm fine." Tatsuki said. "I want to keep going."

"If we do then you will never be able to protect Orihime." Yoruichi said. "Twice, you almost died back there so rest and allow your soul to restore itself to its usual calm."

"What did it do to me?" Tatsuki asked shakily.

"It tried to devour your soul but you're a fighter." Yoruichi said with a smirk. "I was about to step in but it wasn't necessary since you're reiatsu surrounded you and even attacked the hollow. I've never seen anything like it before. It's as if your reiatsu has a mind of its own."

"Can I control it?" Tatsuki asked.

"You can, but I won't be the one to teach you that. I'll make you stronger and faster than you ever thought possible." Yoruichi said. "You have a good choice in weapons as well, fast and light but still has a decent reach. I can teach you how to use those weapons flawlessly however Kisuke will help you with controlling your reiatsu."

"I guess he'll be the one to explain that to me as well." Tatsuki said slowly. "How strong will I become?"

A smile formed on Yoruichi's face, "That depends entirely on your willingness to become stronger. The same goes for your speed but that will be far more difficult for you to achieve."

Yoruichi picked up the fallen short sword and glanced at Tatsuki while walking past her, "We'll start with this. Was this the first time you've wielded a blade?"

Tatsuki offered a nod, "I don't think I'm ready to start just yet."

"That's fine." Yoruichi said. "All you have to do right now is observe."

Tatsuki offered another nod and allowed her body to collapse to the ground while she watched Yoruichi swing the short sword around but kept it relatively close to her body with her arm only half extended from her body. Her swings were slow at first but they were steady and strong but soon picked up speed though they remained steady and became stronger. "Every swing is an extension of yourself, remember that."

Yoruichi's movements were flawless and perfect even when they had started to increase in style and difficulty. Tatsuki watched the woman with awe as every move she made was completely flawless no matter what they were. It was as if she were watching very experienced martial artist train. Distantly in her mind she pictured herself imitating some of those moved though it would take a lot of dedicated years to come anywhere close to this which made it amazing that Yoruichi was so skilled at her age. She looked like she was in her twenties so to have this level of skill was phenomenal.

Tatsuki was in complete awe as this woman performed everything with complete perfection and without even breaking a sweat. When Yoruichi finished with her demonstration she glanced back at Tatsuki, "We'll start with one weapon for now before we move on to two. Show me what you can do on your own."

Yoruichi stepped aside while Tatsuki stood up and picked up her stance as she took a deep breath before she began swinging her sword while trying her best to keep every swing firm and quick. She continued on for a few minutes before Yoruichi approached her. Tatsuki hesitated for a moment but got a nod from Yoruichi telling her to continue so she did. Her moved were observed more closely before Yoruichi stopped the blade easily while loosely holding her own sword.

"You're focusing too much." Yoruichi said. "Just because you can cut yourself doesn't mean that you will. Don't fear your own actions, your instincts will save you just like they did against that hollow."

Yoruichi easily threw Tatsuki off balance and swung the blade at her neck. Out of pure instinct she brought her arm up to stop it before realizing that this was armed combat and not simply hand to hand combat and that this would just lead to her losing her arm. She caught a smirk on Yoruichi's face before the blade made contact with her arm. Her arm shook from the contact but there was only a dull pain from the hit itself. "Trust your instincts, they will protect you but don't rely on them. I'll train you so that your instinct will be your last resort."

The blade left her arm and she recalled the armor that she wore making her realize that this training must have been very planned out if this had been interpreted. Tatsuki watched Yoruichi with a slight mistrust and wondered just how planned out all of this really was. Yoruichi walked away from her and stopped a few feet away and turned back to face her properly.

"Remember, your weapon is an extension of yourself." Yoruichi said. "If you think of it as just a weapon you will never wield it to its full potential and your moves will always be sloppy. You need to have full control when you attack or you will be cut down. If you are not swift you won't make it. If you are weak can't protect anyone. If you don't believe in yourself you won't even be able to protect yourself."

Tatsuki looked at her with a new determination and the words engraved themselves into her resolve and gave her a new courage to push forward. "Start again but do it right this time. If you mess up I'll attack you."

"Well that's helpful." Tatsuki said sarcastically.

Yoruichi swiftly advanced on Tatsuki and attacked barely giving her the chance to defend herself in time. Their blades locked and the taller woman smiled down at Tatsuki, "You've made a grave mistake."

Tatsuki looked at her with a questioning look before the woman swept her feet out from under her and she was on her back. She was given no chance to get up or even move before Yoruichi was on her and had her pinning to the ground. Tatsuki blocked the woman's blade keeping it just inches away from her neck, "Tell me human, why are you so willing to do this?"

"I want to protect Orihime." Tatsuki said, trying to force the woman's blade from her neck. "You already know that."

"I do, but what's your reason for protecting Orihime?" Yoruichi said as a sly smile crawled across her face.

"She's my best friend, that's all the reason I need." Tatsuki said. "Besides she would do the same for me."

Yoruichi chuckled a bit and she pressed the blade closer to Tatsuki's neck so it met her skin, "But what are your ulterior motives for protecting her?"

"Years ago I made a promise to protect her and ever since then I have always been there for her but when she got involved with these things I couldn't be there for her anymore." Tatsuki said making tears form in her eyes. "Now that she's gone I know it's because there was nothing I could do for her. This is the only way I can ever be there for her again. This is the only way I can ever face her again."

Yoruichi let up on her grip a little, "Do you need to take a break?"

Even though her moment of weakness Tatsuki saw the opportunity. With her free hand she grabbed Yoruichi by the side and forced her to roll over. Now it was Yoruichi that was pinned and Tatsuki had control though it wasn't very strong or controlled with tears continuing to blur her vision. The weakness was clear to Yoruichi and she easily forced Tatsuki off of her before quickly getting up and attacking once more. Tatsuki barely had enough time to roll out of the way to avoid it while her tears managed to roll down her cheeks giving her only enough vision to see Yoruichi's blurry image. She quickly got to her feet and readied to defend herself. "Wipe away your tears, human. I have no intention of attacking you when you're like this."

Tatsuki ignored her request and attacked Yoruichi in a blind attempt as grasping the upper hand. She knew very well that getting the upper hand was a futile effort but it would be enough for her if she could just grasp it. If she could do that then she would be taking the next step to getting stronger and she needed to get stronger in leaps not baby steps. There will be no time for taking it easy. Not when Orihime's life was in danger.

Even if there was nothing she could do now this wasn't for right now, it was for Orihime's return so that she would continue to be safe and not having to worry about any hollows again. She was determined to do whatever it took to become stronger for Orihime's sake. This was her only way of keeping her promise and nothing else would come closer than this. That meant whatever was to come out of this would have to be done without hesitation or fear. Fear was something she couldn't afford to have now.

Tatsuki swung her sword relentlessly at Yoruichi, who simply dodged or blocked each of the attacks without even a care for taking the offense. There was no way of her to get any form of advantage and that was made perfectly clear the moment Yoruichi caught her wrist mid swing and Tatsuki's vision slowly began to clear enough to see the attack being made at her. Without thinking as grabbed Yoruichi by the wrist and held it firm stopping it only inches from her throat making the woman smile, "Your reflexes are getting better at least. Now just calm down and we'll continue."

Tatsuki refused to release Yoruichi's wrist and it was the same vice versa. Neither gave up their grip and their eyes narrowed at one another. They remained at a stalemate for a long time just watching each other in silence. A calm mutual anger was held in their eyes but neither moved to gain any sort of advantage of the other while they just stood there watching each other without word and without any form of movement at all.

Not a word was said between them for ten minutes and not a single movement was made between them either. Their eyes narrowed as they both came to the same conclusion and they released each other to jump back simultaneously. When Tatsuki came to a stop she began panting heavily and her body felt like it was ready to collapse. She had lost their little mental fight and Yoruichi had done something to her in the little fight. Tatsuki felt as though she was being crushed by some sort of invisible force the woman was pushing on her.

It was clear to her that Yoruichi had full awareness of her current position since she didn't make a single move to attack her. The woman simply stood there and waited as Tatsuki fell to her knees and coughed violently while she tried desperately to calm her nerves and her fear. Sweat dripped from her forehead and down her neck from whatever Yoruichi had done to her. Tatsuki glanced up at Yoruichi to watch her approach at a slow place with no indication of what was to come next.

Tatsuki tried to get up to defend herself but the woman tossed the short sword to the ground in front of her. It pierced through the rock and struck out in front of Tatsuki making her fall back in her attempt to avoid it. Yoruichi stopped before her and crouched down and met her in the eyes but this time there was no anger in them nor were the two combating against the other through their eyes. All that remained in the woman's eyes was concern, "Don't cloud your mind with feelings when you are fighting. Even if you're just training you can't allow emotions to get in the way. If this were a real battle you would have died before your first tear hit your cheek."

"You brought it up." Tatsuki argued. "If you hadn't I would have been fine."

"I brought it up for a reason, your little promise could easily get you killed." Yoruichi said calmly. "There will be a time where you will have to fight with those you care about around you. You can't protect everyone and live to talk about it. The person you want to protect so much isn't as helpless as you believe her to be. She has more power than you yet your offensive skill far surpasses hers and you have the will to fight where she holds only compassion."

"I know she can't fight that why I always did the fighting for her." Tatsuki said letting tears form in her eyes again at the thought of Orihime. "I always protected her so she wouldn't have to fight anyone. She would always get so upset every time she hurt someone even if it was a complete accident. She'd always be so upset whenever someone else was upset. She does anything she can for others."

"It sounds like you have some unresolved emotions towards her." Yoruichi said with a sly smile. "You'll have to control these in battle especially when she's around."

"I do have control over my emotions." Tatsuki argued before allowing her voice to calm. "It's just been so long since I've seen her that it's a little hard to talk about her."

"Separating from someone you're close to is never an easy task. It's a harsh reality to live in when there were no explanations given. I've been in a similar position but I was the one that left." Yoruichi said. "Don't resent her for her leave. There was no other option for her and confronting her about it will only hurt both of you, trust me on that if nothing else."

"I could never resent her for anything." Tatsuki said. "She's my best friend, there's no way I could ever be angry at her."

"Things change, human." Yoruichi said as she stood up. "Though you two won't have to wait a hundred years to reunite with each other. Get some rest."

Tatsuki looked up at the woman and saw her for only a moment before she disappeared from sight completely. Her eyes widened and she looked around for any sign of her but found not even a trace of her or that odd presence that she had felt from her. It was difficult for her to understand and even harder for her to explain it but she felt it as clearly as she felt any emotion she had.

It was as though her presence had its own little aura that she could identify. It was just like how Orihime's presence had become for her in the past few months. Tatsuki had been able to tell when she was around and when she was far away though she had always assumed that it was the intensity of the feelings she held towards her but now she wasn't so sure. But she held no attachment towards Yoruichi and hardly held any trust towards her.

"A hundred and ten years and that's still such a touchy subject." A male voice called from behind Tatsuki. She glanced over while grabbing the short sword stuck in the ground and she eyed the sketchy looking man with caution and mistrust. He glanced down at Tatsuki while scratching the scruff on his side on his neck, "Well, I guess it's my turn with you now."

Tatsuki gulped and quickly stood up to take a step back from him clearly questioning his choice of words and to prove it she picked up her guard. He smiled at her and said, "You won't need those. Yoruichi is in charge of training you in combat, I'm here to teach you control."


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer::I own nothing but half the idea. lol**

**Chapter 03: The second task; Control**

Tatsuki sat in a meditational position trying to calm her spirit of any questions and mistrust she still held about her training and these people. Soon there was nothing left in her mind to distract her and she opened her eyes and found the man, who had introduced himself as Kisuke Urahara, sitting on the rock where she had last seen him half an hour earlier. He stood up and approached her with a yawn but Tatsuki didn't question him even when he walked behind her and placed a hand on her back. She stiffened slightly at the unexpected contact but soon relaxed her body with a deep breath. "How do you feel?"

"I feel calm, relaxed, and free." Tatsuki answered in a calm voice.

"That's nice." Urahara said with an uncaring attitude. "Now close your eyes again and search deep within yourself for anything that you can't identify. And feel free to narrate when you get confused about anything."

Tatsuki smirked and closed her eyes to search for anything different inside her. She knew what she was supposed to be looking for but she didn't know how to find it or even where it was within her but she knew she could find it. She had done it before and she had tried to identify it on her own but couldn't even get a grasp on it. When Tatsuki had located it before she had lingered around the strange feeling trying to figure it out but then it seemed to tire of her curiosity and it lashed out at her making her break out of her meditation to find all the things in her room pushed against the wall and there were more unexplained burnt things.

After that she hadn't successfully meditated or even slept since it seemed to be after her then as well but now that she was looking for it and not running from it she couldn't find the feeling inside herself. She took in a long deep breath and held it for a moment before releasing it to ease her search and she began to fall into the final stages of letting the reality that was around her fall away into a deep nothingness where there would be nothing in the way of finding that strange feeling.

Her existence fell into bliss as she became submerged in her subconscious and she searched within herself for that strange power that she was supposed to find inside herself. She roamed deeper and deeper inside her soul and searched for the strange sensation that should encompass her soon just like it always did when she fell this deep. She knew going this far wasn't good and by doing this she could incidentally let go of everything and not regain complete awareness again. To go this far she would either come out with some sort of enlightenment or some sort of answer for things that no human should know or she could lose herself completely in this shapeless inner world.

Things were becoming warmer for her and she knew she was getting closer to what she was looking for. Soon she would have it in her grasp but then what? Nothing else had been explained to her. Once she had it what was she supposed to do with it? Was she supposed to identify it or come out of her meditation with some sort of enlightenment on it or some form of control over the feeling?

As her mind wandered she started to get colder which snapped her attention back to the warmth that was pulling away from her. She pursued it with determination, she would no longer be afraid of this it was a part of her that she needed to contain and use whenever she needed it. The warmth went further away like it was trying to lead her somewhere that she didn't question and just blindly followed the warmth wherever it led her but soon it came to a sudden stop and she could no longer stop herself. Soon she became consumed by the warmth and it quickly became too much for her and it began to burn her. There was no voice that would allow her to scream making her eyes shoot open and she sat up in a panic.

Her heart raced within her chest while she slowly looked around at the meadow she was in with complete surprise. The grass was tall enough to hide her completely if she were to lean back and support herself with her hands. There were a few rocks scattered around the meadow peeking out over the grass. Not far off in the distance, and surrounding more of the meadow, was a mountainous range that blocked out anything that could be past them while on one side and straight in front of her were many pine trees that followed the foot of the mountains into the valley ahead of her but were absent on the other side leaving a rocky slant. The sky was clear with only a few clouds present letting the sun drape its rays over the landscape.

Tatsuki wiped her sweat drenched face in this scorching hot place that felt more like a desert than a meadow. She stood up and looked around at her surroundings but nothing was familiar to her but this place felt soothing to her almost like she had been here many times before even though she had never been anywhere remotely similar. "_What is it that you seek, Tatsuki?"_

Tatsuki's eyes widened at the voice that seemed to come from all around her making her look around her in search of the voice but there was no one around her to speak to her. It must have just been her mind playing tricks on her or some other matter that she couldn't quite determine at the moment. She let out a sigh figuring that her training must be having more of an effect on her then she thought. _"Must you believe such useless things?"_

This time the voice came from behind her making her turn around to face it only to find that no one was there. The only living thing present other than her was a small red fox that was sitting on a large rock and watching her tirelessly. She reached for the swords on her sash before noticing that they were beside the fox. _"Do you believe yourself to be in danger whilst in my presence?"_

"Who said that?" Tatsuki demanded with more courage than she really held.

"_Why do you persist in knowing what is before you?"_ The fox stood up and watched her with a cool gaze. _"I stand before you and speak yet you persist in your ignorance. Every attempt that I wasted for you to understand were ignored and yet now you seek me and dare to deny what is before you. How amusing of you, Tatsuki."_

"What attempts are you talking about?" Tatsuki questioned.

"_You know of the power that has awakened inside you. What you are unaware is that I am the source of this power."_ The fox responded. _"I have been resting deep inside you until someone woke me from my eternal rest. A great power had been suppressing your power because you never had a grasp of it but now that person is gone and you can hear my voice yet you chose to ignore it when I wished to bring you here. You have no excuse for ignoring me since."_

"Who was suppressing my power?" Tatsuki asked.

"_Kurosaki, Ichigo. His power is vast and that has caused you to be oblivious to me when I first woke and quieted my voice when I spoke. Now that he has gone your own reiatsu has flourished and you can hear my voice clear enough to awaken the power that resides inside you. There is no time for you to continue in your ignorance."_

The fox turned and jumped off the rock and trotted of quickly making Tatsuki followed it but not without nervousness. She picked up her short swords while passing the rock and slid them under her sash putting her at ease in this scenario. This field was very open but it still caused her unease and she felt like she was being slowly pulled away from this place completely by some unknown force that watched her every move but was unseen by her and possibly even this strange fox.

The fox quickened its pace and Tatsuki followed with slight difficulty in the knee high grass making it hard to walk through and even harder to see the fox. She was going on the grasses movement alone until she came into a small clearing that held a mound of dirt which housed a burrow where the fox quickly disappeared in making her come to a quick stop to avoid her foot falling into it, "Do you expect me to fit in there?"

There was no answer from the fox but it sounded like something was being moved around inside the burrow. Tatsuki let out an aggravated sigh and she got on her knees to into the burrow but it was too dark to see anything clearly though she could easily make out something being moved around inside of it. It slowly came into view as the fox slowly pushed it out of the burrow.

Tatsuki reached in and pulled it out to aid the fox's struggle and brought it so it was in front of her. It was a deep crimson wooden box with a black vine like design engraved over the whole thing, which was fitting with the surrounding, while it had black handles on the sides. The fox came out of the burrow and sat beside her, _"These are yours, use them as you see fit and I will grant you the use of my power to allow you to gain your own strength. Together, we are a team."_

"How are we a team?" Tatsuki asked with confusion but was captivated by the box completely until she opened it and saw what was inside. Her eyes widened at the sight of the twin short swords that were inside of it. "These are amazing."

The sheath was the same crimson as the box and the engraved pattern was painted on with black ink. These swords were wider than the ones she had been provided with at the start of her training but the blade itself was thinner and the shape also differed. Instead of the European style of the other weapons the blade spiked out on the sharp side near the guard and ended similarly to a machete but the dull side curved inward to form more of a spike. The guard was gold with a black ivy design and the handle was wrapped tightly with a crimson tsuka while the wood underneath it was black.

"_When you are in need of my assistance call my name and I shall oblige."_ The fox said as Tatsuki picked up the weapons and marveled at them even when they pulsed in her hands. _"Even now you show your ignorance."_

"I don't know your name." Tatsuki said slowly.

The fox chuckled as the field started to fade away leaving only it and Tatsuki while she fell back to reality with him falling right beside her._ "My name is Honoban, call on me when you need my aid."_

Tatsuki nodded distantly in agreement before blinking and finding herself back in the strange environment under the small store. She looked around with minor shock at the scorch marks on the ground. She reached down and grabbed some of the dirt and watched it turned to ash in the palm of her hand. She let it fall through her fingers when she noticed the twin short swords from that odd vision were present on her lap.

"Honoban," She muttered distantly recalling the fox in her vision and picked one up and unsheathed it. Again she marveled at the divine beauty of these twin swords and found that they were very light but something told her it was very strong regardless of the weight and the thinness of the blade. A smile formed on her face even while she sensed a presence approaching her.

"That was some light show." Urahara called out as he made his way over. "Yoruichi was right, there's definitely something interesting about you."

Tatsuki sheathed the short sword she held in her hand and picked the other one up before she got to her feet and looked over at Urahara. He stopped in his tracks when he saw the swords in her hands and any smile he had faded while his face grew stern with seriousness, "Where did you get those?"

Tatsuki gave him a blank look before looking down at her swords, "I got them from Honoban, it's a little hard to explain."

He continued over to her at a quickened pace while his eyes stayed on the weapons in her hand. When he was in front of her he made one swift movement and both swords were in his possession as if taking them was a trivial task. He examined both carefully while keeping them out of her reach as Tatsuki struggled to retrieve them, "Hey give them back."

"You shouldn't have these in your possession." Urahara's eyes narrowed and looked back at Tatsuki, who had ceased her attempt at the look in his eyes. "This 'Honoban', I assume led you to these weapons and told you a few things about the awakening of your powers. This all took place in a strange environment that you were unfamiliar with but was relaxing for you, correct?"

"How did you know that?" Tatsuki asked.

"I know that because these two swords are in fact two parts of one sword, this is a zanpakutou. Not many two-part zanpakutou are known to exist and their power is unpredictable, like yours for example. This would explain why your reiatsu seems like it's alive. It has different capabilities than that of a normal soul reaper's zanpakutou." Urahara said. "This place you visited was your inner world and your little friend 'Honoban' is the spirit that resides within this zanpakutou. My question to you is how do you even have this? You have no soul reaper abilities at all so how can you have a zanpakutou?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Tatsuki said.

"You have powers that you should not have." He stated. "Have you ever had any personal contact with a soul reaper?"

"Other than Ichigo and Rukia I don't know." Tatsuki said. "Look, I don't know how I have this power. No on even told me I had these powers until today. All I know is that they were suppressed by Ichigo's power and with him gone I can access it now. I don't know anything other than that."

Urahara watched her for a moment before returning her weapons to her. When she took them she noticed that his hands and arms had been wrapped up in bandages which was odd considering she hadn't noticed any bandages on his arms before. "Show me what you can do with these. I'll take the other ones, you're only allowed to use your zanpakutou now since they belong to you and no one else can use it properly."

Tatsuki handed Urahara the other short sword before placing her own under her sash walked a few feet away from him to keep a good amount of distance before she unsheathed one of the blades. "Use both, they are two parts of one so you must learn both at once and gain the full knowledge of your zanpakutou.

"For a two-part zanpakutou you must use both or you will not have full control. If you only listen you will only learn half of what you need to know. You must also ask questions because if you don't then you will only know what's necessary but there will be no bond formed." Urahara lectured. "You must have a strong communication with your zanpakutou. If you do that then you'll have more access to its powers. Considering your potential is nowhere close to Ichigo's when he first came here this will be key for you to do."

"You want me to talk to a sword." Tatsuki asked giving him a funny look. "You're insane, you know that right?"

A sly smile formed on his face, "Why not ask it a question then?"

"Ha, you wish." Tatsuki said as she unsheathed the other blade. When they were both out and she brought up her stance they pulsed in her hands as if eager for action. She glanced at them in shock before a smile formed on her face as she thought 'Damned that Urahara, he's got me believing that crap.'

She swung her blades and found that these weapons were perfectly matched for her movements like she had wielded them before and had already mastered them to perfection. It was odd but she felt as relaxed as she would have when practicing karate. Was it the fact that they were so light that it made them so easy to use or was the weightlessness of the weapon giving the illusion of her mastery over them?

She pushed the questions to the back of her mind and focused purely on her training at hand. There must be no weakness in her swings and no flaw in her movements. It wouldn't be accepted in a real fight and that had already been proven when she was almost killed. She would never make that mistake again. She would not allow her weakness to put others in danger, especially when it comes to Orihime's life or even her safety. When it came to that girl no slip up would be tolerated in Tatsuki's eyes.

While Tatsuki trained Urahara watched her from the sidelines deep in thought about the reasons behind her obtaining a zanpakutou and any possible powers she may wield because of her zanpakutou. His mind wandered whil he watched Tatsuki's skill with her blades quickly increased and Yoruichi approached him. She stood beside him in silence not announcing her presence to him since he was already aware of her beside him. The two of them watched Tatsuki in silence as she slowly became faster and better.

"There's something not right about her movements now." Yoruichi said trying to place the difference. "There's no way she could be so accustomed to wielding a weapon yet."

Urahara held up the discarded short swords, "She's using her zanpakutou."

"What, how could she have one? There isn't an ounce of soul reaper abilities in her." Yoruichi said. "I was tailing her for weeks and never felt anything like that in her at all."

"It's not soul reaper abilities." Urahara said simply. "It's something else entirely."

"Are you thinking its hollow?" Yoruichi asked eyeing Tatsuki more carefully.

"It's not impossible, she may have been attacked while she was with Orihime and something may have gone wrong without either of them realizing it." Urahara said. "It would explain the characteristics of her reiatsu though that still doesn't explain how she has a zanpakutou or how she's been able to resist the hollow for so long. Unless-"

"She was getting help from Orihime." Yoruichi finished for him. "Let's find out."

"What do you plan on doing?" Urahara asked her while she walked past him towards Tatsuki making her intentions clear. "You might need this then."

Tatsuki swung her weapons with ease and was already feeling completely familiar with them. It was just as Yoruichi had told her it would be, they were a part of her, an extension of herself and yet it was still so much more than that. These two swords were everything she wanted to have and they would give her the power she needed to protect the person she cared about more than anything. "Heads up, human."

She glanced over to find Yoruichi coming in to attack her and managed to turn and blocked the attack pretty well for short notice. Their blades left the other and they both prepared for the next attack while their eyes met and locked together. Tatsuki felt the tension of Yoruichi's eyes and took it on without care and she applied her own tension with her own eyes.

They lunged at each other and their blades locked effortlessly so they both applied more pressure through their eyes. Yoruichi didn't seem the least bit affected by it, "You're getting better, for a greenhorn."

Tatsuki grit her teeth and pushed Yoruichi back and lashed out her own attacks against her. All Yoruichi could do was defend herself against Tatsuki's relentless attacks. The woman was being forced back but she blocked every attack with ease. A smile formed on Tatsuki's face when she realised that she was beginning to have the upper hand in this small match against Yoruichi. She didn't have this opportunity in her grasp before when she wielded the other short swords. The ones she held now carried so much more power and possibilities.

But what she didn't know was that Yoruichi had no intention of attacking her at all. What she was doing was slowly forcing her reiatsu onto Tatsuki though she seemed to have picked up on what she was doing and was combating it with her own reiatsu but the chances of her knowingly doing that were slim to none. Yoruichi's eyes narrowed at the glimmer of change in the girl's eyes making them darker and more serious than just the determined look she had held before there was reiatsu being forced onto her.

Their blades locked and this time it was Tatsuki that was being pushed back by a series of attacks. It wasn't long before Yoruichi began to increase the pressure of reiatsu onto Tatsuki in hopes of a greater reaction then before. However her reaction was different this time. She didn't collapse from the pressure but there was no change in her eyes either. She just showed more determination and her own reiatsu began to materialize around her like it had when she was grabbed by the hollow.

Yoruichi jumped back to get to a safe distance away from Tatsuki's reiatsu, which wildly flickered and danced around her like a fire. With the scorch marks being made on the ground and the heat from the reiatsu it was perfectly clear that being too close to Tatsuki now could be dangerous. Her reiatsu around her and became more violent and so did the pain that spread on her face as her reiatsu began to consume her.

Urahara was beside Yoruichi in an instant, "We need to seal her reiatsu before she hurts herself."

"She's already hurting herself." Yoruichi said. "Do something."

Urahara went to it immediately as Yoruichi dropped her weapons and got ready for her part while he began his. She waited impatiently knowing that the longer they took to seal her reiatsu the more pain Tatsuki would be in and the more dangerous the situation became and it was already becoming far too much for the girl to handle. It didn't take long before Urahara finished what he had to do Tatsuki's reiatsu disappeared and she began to fall to the ground already unconscious from the pain. Yoruichi was there in an instant and Tatsuki was in her arms with a heavy pant. "What was that about?"

Yoruichi just shook her head in response while Urahara walked over, "She needs more control before we try to figure this out. No more theories until then, she won't be able to handle it."

Tatsuki slow stirred from her deep sleep with a splitting headache and found herself in a small dimly lit room. She brought her hand to her forehead she found an incredible amount of stiffness and pain before she even got her arm halfway up but she continued to move it until it rested on her forehead where she found a wet cloth. It was damp but not exactly cold. She let out a long sigh and found even doing that caused her a lot of pain. "You've been out for a while."

She glanced over not wanting to move anymore then she had to and found Yoruichi sitting beside her examining her weapon carefully, "I've never seen anything like this before, well, not in the human world at least. It's light but very strong. Perhaps you could even be accepted into squad 2 with something like this."

"What's that?" Tatsuki asked wearily.

Yoruichi just smiled at her as she put aside the short sword. "You should get some more rest, human. I'll explain everything you want to know later."

"Arisawa, Tatsuki." Tatsuki said. "I never really introduced myself did I?"

Yoruichi's smile widened, "Nice to meet you, Tatsuki."

Tatsuki offered a light laugh before coughing. Yoruichi took her hand and brought it back to her side before taking the cloth off her forehead. Tatsuki couldn't see what was happening but her ears told her all she needed to know. There was the distinct sound of water being moved around then poured as the water was being strained out of the cloth before it was replaced on her forehead sending a wave of bliss through her even though she wasn't burning up at all.

She smiled weakly at Yoruichi, who looked down at her, "You aren't ready for this training yet."

"I still want to do it." Her determination was the only thing about her now that was strong. "I have to do this. I don't care about what happens to me as long as I can protect Orihime."

"This training will get you killed if you keep going." Yoruichi said. "How do you plan on protecting her when that happens?"

Tatsuki looked away with guilt showing on her face, "I'll figure something out."

"Would you want to see the look on her face when you get hurt?" Yoruichi asked, placing a hand on her shoulder. "You need to think of these things more than protecting her because to do that you also have to protect yourself. You need to rest then I'll train you how to defend yourself but your control over your power is more important than even that right now."

"Yeah, I understand." Tatsuki agreed as she closed her eyes once more. "I'm going to get some more rest. We'll get back to training after."

"I'll be here if you need anything." Yoruichi said in the distance as Tatsuki lost consciousness once more.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer::I own nothing but half the idea. lol**

**Chapter 04: Taking the first step**

The whole weekend was dedicated to training but now that it was Monday Tatsuki was granted the day to rest but then straight after school she was going right back to Urahara's strange basement to continue her training. She had made amazing progress with her strength while her speed was still unknown to her because of the immense weights she constantly had to wear. Yoruichi's reasoning for the weights were because of their lack of time but they still could have used lighter weights. The ones she had were almost completely restricting her movements.

Her control was the least improving area of her training but she could hardly even feel any of her own reiatsu anymore let alone grasp it for control. All she could remember from the last time she tried to control it was being engulfed in a very intense heat but despite the intensity of it she didn't get burned but it felt more like she lost all of her reiatsu from that single burst. After that there was nothing left of it that she could find no matter how hard she searched for it, it was just gone.

No one had spoken to her of that incident so she didn't even know what had happened other than the intense pain she felt. She couldn't even recall who was there when it happened but she knew it was Yoruichi by her side when she woke up the next day. Tatsuki had wanted to ask her then what had happened but the look of tire on the woman's face stripped away all her questions. Now the only thing that kept her from asking was the guilt that had steadily grown in her golden eyes when their gaze met. She felt as though asking about what had happened would only make the guilt grow even more.

"Arisawa." A stern voice called stirring Tatsuki from her sleep. Her eyes opened and she looked up to find Ochi Sensei standing over her with an angered look as the other students in her class started chuckling. "Did I disturb your nap?"

"No I was just resting my eyes a little that's all." Tatsuki said as she sat up in her desk.

"I'm sure." She said sarcastically while returning to the front of the class. "You can clean the drool off your desk after class today."

Tatsuki went red in the face as she wiped her mouth and did find a bit of drool. Laughter erupted from around her as everyone watched her embarrassment only to be silenced almost immediately when Ochi Sensei got back to the front of the class, "Does anyone else want to join her."

"No, Sensei." They all seemed to chime at once while Tatsuki just groaned. Her training was taking too much of an effect on her. She was completely exhausted now and anytime she closed her eyes for more than a few seconds she was asleep.

This wasn't the first time today she had fallen asleep either. It was on and off but as she glanced at the clock she found that the last little nap was the longest she had had today and it was also the only one she had been called on by a teacher. She had missed most of lunch with her on and off consciousness. Her friends had already expressed their concern for her and she simply told them she was working too hard lately. That was a given in her mind but she couldn't exactly come out and say what she was doing openly to save them from over worrying about her.

Now she could feel and see their eyes occasionally wander over to her from the front of the classroom. There would be a lot more questions at the end of the day and not just from her friends but from a few other students who were giving her a concerned look as well but the eyes that were on her the most now were Ochi Sensei's. Tatsuki let out a sigh and tried allowed her body to relax without falling asleep while the lesson continued on at a slow and torturously boring pace.

Tatsuki rubbed her eyes when they became heavy with tire hoping to keep herself awake. It was only a moment before she had collapsed on her desk once more fast asleep only to be awoken immediately by a few freaked out screams. She sat up quickly and noticed the notebook that was on her desk had caught fire. The students panicked while Tatsuki just reacted to it by throwing the notebook on the floor and stomping out the small fire as quickly as she could before it could spread to anything else.

Her face paled the moment she realized what had just happened. Her reiatsu had just materialized in front of a bunch of people that were now all watching her with fear as she felt her weariness return as it threatened to take over once more. No one looked away from her while she quickly packed up her things and left the classroom. She didn't meet anyone's eyes anyone's eyes not even Ochi Sensei who watched her with more anger then fear as she walked by her.

She walked down the hallway quickly just wanting to get away from the school and the freaked out voices that were already being drowned out the further away she got. Soon they couldn't be heard at all and by then she was going down the stairs as quickly as she could, which was fast with the added weight she carried. Her mind raced with questions about what had just happened in the classroom and why it had happened in the first place. There had been no sign of her reiatsu for two whole days and now it began to materialize out of nowhere with absolutely no warning beforehand and at the worst possible time ever.

Now she was going to get into a lot of trouble with her parents and the school for this. She had to achieve control of it but she couldn't do that if there was nothing there for her to try control. Tatsuki reached the front of the school and left in a hurry, soon finding Yoruichi standing by the gate waiting for her making her wonder if the woman was already aware of what had happened in the classroom. If she had there would likely be a scolding from this woman also for her lack of control.

Tatsuki approached her almost cautiously while Yoruichi watched her carefully until she came within talking distance before she walked down the street without a single word. She followed the woman quickly not wanting to make her wait or slow down. When she caught up with her she noticed the stern look in Yoruichi's eyes. "Is everything alright?"

"That depends on what you're talking about." Yoruichi said. "If you mean your little outburst then it's concerning but if you're talking about the reaction you got then its fine, they won't remember a thing that happened. It was just another normal lesson with nothing out of the ordinary in their mind."

"Nothing about what happened in there was normal." Tatsuki said.

"They won't remember anything that really happened, their memory on the incident was erased." Yoruichi said. "There are enough questions being raised as it is and we don't need any more attention drawn to you. A few humans are fine but any more than that and it won't end well."

"Right," Tatsuki said. "I'll stay as quiet as I can but I still have no control over my reiatsu. I can't even get a grasp on it anymore. It's like completely gone."

As she had been promised she got an explanation when she had woken up on Saturday morning. She was aware of everything that was going on and how she had to be kept a secret from others so she could be sort of their secret weapon even though she wasn't strong enough for that role. It was clear that she would be more of a distraction than anything else for what they were facing and that was far from what she wanted but if it gave them a better chance at survival she would have to do it since she had no way of backing out now nor did she have a want to.

"Don't be concerned on your reiatsu, it isn't important right now." Yoruichi said. "When you had your first little outburst your reiatsu was sealed so you could become stronger and be prepared for it. The seal is only temporary and is already beginning to fade away at a slow pace so that you can grasp it slowly and learn to control it instead of taking it on all at once. You're not ready for that yet.

"I know that you don't want to take small steps but this is necessary for your safety as well as others. Your reiatsu was suppressed for so long that you couldn't feel it while it grew inside you but oddly enough when you could feel it inside you it remained dormant…" She trailed off slowly as if coming to a sudden realization. "Wait…"

She remained quiet for a moment and Tatsuki watched her patiently awaiting answers. Yoruichi walked in silence while deep in thought for a few minutes before looking up. "Of course, why didn't I see this? I'm going on ahead. Meet me in the dining room."

With that Yoruichi took off leaving Tatsuki with only questions and no promise of answers. She let out a long sigh and continued down the street at a more leisurely pace with no real sense of hurry. Her mind was determined for answers but her body ached with every movement she made with the weights continued to keep her pinned to the ground.

Tatsuki was actually grateful for Yoruichi's leave since the woman's usual fast pace was hard to keep up with while she had the weights on her ankles on her wrist. The ones on her knees and elbows were what really hurt her now. She was clueless as to how something that was smaller than a wrist band could weigh a quarter of a ton. It was literally five hundred pounds in total.

She had done the math and figured it was 62.3 pounds in each weight which meant that she was lifting one hundred and twenty-five pounds with each step and each full arm movement. With even further calculation she might be able to figure out just how fast she would be able to move when these were removed but with the slight insanity she found in Urahara he may just increase the weight instead of taking them off when she got used to them.

The more she thought of it the more possibilities of this weight training came to mind and the more she wished she had attempted to do the math and figured out just how much she would be able to move. Her imagination wondered freely at the thought of all the possibilities that she could achieve with this. She thought about how fast Yoruichi was able to move with a continued awe. Yoruichi was able be in one place and then another in an instant.

The technique was called 'flash step' or something like that but it entranced her regardless. Tatsuki wanted to be fast like that. She wanted to defy physics more now than she did when she practiced with her zanpakutou. Whenever she swung one of the blades she felt completely invincible and as light as the weapons themselves. She loved the feeling and she couldn't wait to swing her swords without having the weights slow her swings down.

She knew she couldn't be as fast as Yoruichi was, no one could. She was the Goddess of Flash Step and no one would ever take that title from her. Tatsuki was being realistic about her training but allowed her imagination to entice her as she thought of the possibilities of where her training will lead her. A slight smile formed on her face and she began to walk faster just to get more out of the weights. They were still heavy but they were beginning to feel lighter on her since she was beginning to became accustomed to their weight and restrictions.

Her muscles throbbed in her legs with each step but she kept on regardless of the strain and what it would lead to but she knew her weights were coming off after her next training session tonight and she would be able to relax under smaller weights until the start of the next day then she would have her morning exercise then the old weights would be put on. They would remain on for a couple more days before there was another break from them then it would be repeated with possibly a new set of weights.

There was absolutely no telling how far Urahara would go with this form of training and with the little sly smile that formed on his face the instant she asked about it made it clear that he would never say what his plans were about it. She wasn't even sure what this had to do with her control but it didn't seem to be doing anything for her. But then the restraint on the reiatsu had just begun to fade away so there was no way in telling what her hold on it would be until it faded away enough for her to feel it a little.

Her mind was filled with skepticism when arrived at the shop and went straight for the back after greeting Tessai, who manned the shop every time she was here since Urahara was busy picking on her. He wasn't even being very helpful with her training, all he was doing was making her run errands for him but she understood that the more she moved with the weights on the more her muscles worked so the more she got out of everything.

She removed her shoes without crouching down since she had learned from the first time that it was a mistake and she then had to lift her own weight as well as two hundred and fifty pounds in her arms and upper legs. The worst part about doing that lift in the position she was in was that there was no proper way to do it and she would just end up hurting herself so she actually needed someone to pull her up. Luckily though, it happened here and not somewhere that she would get questioned or made fun of for it.

Soon she was walking into the dining room area and found it empty so she walked over and sat in the only chair in the room since it was there for her to use. She let her mind wander once more while she waited but it was far from her fantasies but more on the topic of what was really important right now. When she was here it was for one purpose and one purpose only, getting stronger.

This wasn't even just for Orihime's sake anymore though it did still revolve around her but there was nothing Tatsuki could do to help her right now so she had been put aside until there was something that could be done for her. After she had made that small resolve her training had gone a lot smoother and there were less hesitation in her movements when she was brought up, which coincidently was only when she trained under Yoruichi and not under Urahara.

It was clear that it was due to the fact that Yoruichi was experienced with that Tatsuki was going through at the time and Urahara clearly had no such experience with that sort of emotional matter so he stayed out of it. Tatsuki was grateful for that small understanding but she still feared hearing Orihime's name pass his lips when she trained under him. He had already spoken her name but it was under different circumstances when he was explaining things to her about how she was involved with all of this.

The doors slid open and Yoruichi walked in followed closely by Urahara. Yoruichi remained standing by the table as Urahara took a seat. They both watched Tatsuki carefully for a moment before Urahara let out a sigh and began, "We may have figured out you have a zanpakutou. It's just a theory however and we don't know for sure."

"Alright," Tatsuki said curiously as she too had been wondering about this. "What is it?"

"We think Ichigo's power has had more of an influence on you then we originally thought. At first your spiritual power would have been unpredictable since it had no source to concentrate on and no way to expel itself but as it was suppressed by a soul reapers power so took on the form of a soul reapers power and created its own source which then created your zanpakutou spirit and at the same time it created your zanpakutou." Urahara said. "My guess is that the reason your weapon is so light is because when they were formed your power was being suppressed but because of the strength of your reiatsu and the characteristic of it allows your zanpakutou to cut through a regular weapon like it's nothing.

"Now, in theory the reason you were so accustomed to a short sword when you first began your training was because that is the form of your zanpakutou even if you didn't realize it." He continued. "And the reason why you were able to wield your zanpakutou so easily was because it has been with you for a while now. However when you acquired it you weren't ready for that much power so you couldn't control it properly and it overflowed."

"To put it simply your reiatsu took a form before Ichigo left and the spirit of your zanpakutou was calling out to you because of your urge to become stronger." Yoruichi said. "The best way for you to get stronger is for you to work with your zanpakutou as a team. That's why your reiatsu was flaring when you got close to reaching your inner world but your fear of your own power always pulled you away. Since you confronted this fear you were able to hear your zanpakutou but you have been ignoring it ever since. Can't you hear Honoban calling to you even now?"

Tatsuki remained quiet as she tried to hear anything calling out to her but there was nothing to be heard at all. The room was completely silent making her look at Yoruichi, "I don't hear anything."

"You're not listening to the right thing." Yoruichi explained. "Don't listen to sounds around you listen to what's inside of you. That small voice that encourages you to get stronger and dulls your pain so you that can keep pushing forward even with all those weights on, that's what you need to listen for."

The room fell silent once more as Tatsuki now searched inside her for anything calling out to her. She faintly noticed Yoruichi walk over to her then behind her before she felt her hands on her shoulder as she received a massage that helped calm some of her stress. "Forget about your reasons for getting stronger, they don't matter just focus on getting stronger."

Tatsuki closed her eyes and did as she was told. She took in a deep breath and exhaled as Yoruichi spoke in her ear distantly to calm her as she relieved her stress by massaged her aching muscles. Far off in the distance she noticed something strange that she normally would have ignored. She discarded it as a useless little noise immediately then went back to it curiously since she had never tried to comprehend it.

"_Must your ignorance continue to persist?"_ A familiar voice called out. _"How is it that you plan on getting stronger if you persistently ignore me or have you yet to come to terms with me being the source of your power? Stand alone and you have not but a dream of gaining strength but no means of doing so."_

"Are you here?" Tatsuki called out finding herself in the grass field again. She exhaled deeply feeling free here and there was no longer something trying to pull her away nor was there any weight holding her down. She enjoyed the feeling wholly but knew she couldn't focus on it as much as she would have liked to.

"_Do you believe yourself worthy of wielding my power?"_ The fox called out from the same rock it had been on before. _"You wish to wield great power but that is beyond your reach unless you have my assistance in the matter. You will get nowhere on your own and you are foolish to believe such a petty thing as that. My assistance in this matter in a necessity or you will forever be as weak as you are now."_

"I want to get stronger." Tatsuki said with pure determination. "That's why I'm doing all this training."

"_Nonsense, you act for the girl."_ The fox replied sternly._ "That is all that concerns you. You care not for yourself nor do you hold any concern for others. Just that one person is your concern."_

Tatsuki remained silent as the fox judged her, _"You've yet to call on me by name."_

"I've said your name before." Tatsuki said.

"_You spoke of me but no more than that."_ The fox said. _"You have yet to accept me even as we stand here you have yet to even accept me speaking to you now. In truth you deny my entire existence."_

Tatsuki looked away guiltily, "This is all just so insane. How can I believe any of this?"

"_You have accepted my presence in the material world yet you do nothing more than that."_ The fox replied. _"I am here before you now as much as I am a part of you no matter how much doubt you carry on the matter. My power will not be yours to let if you persist on ignoring my existence."_

Tatsuki didn't look over at the fox that spoke to her. She was still having trouble believing any of this. It was all just too strange for her, the hollows and soul reapers she could believe because she saw them and others did too and even acknowledged their existence but this was completely different. This was just a hallucination. There was no way she could be sitting in a room, far from any field whatsoever, then just open her eyes and here she was. It just couldn't happen.

"_Leave this place with your ignorance."_ The fox said angrily as turned to leave. _"I will not grant you the use of my power."_

Tatsuki looked back at the fox in time to see it jumped off the rock with her swords in its mouth. Her eyes widened at the sight of it disappearing into the grass while she was left standing there, "Wait."

The fox didn't oblige so Tatsuki hurried after it at her fastest pace but she still couldn't keep up. It was like the weights had been placed on her body slowing her down again. When she reached the burrow she almost tripped over it but managed to avoid it just in time to prevent falling and damaging it. She back tracked and crouched down and peered into the tiny hole that she couldn't enter. Nothing inside it was visible for her and she couldn't make out any sign of movement.

"Come back out here." Tatsuki called but got no response at all making her sit up with a groan, "How am I supposed to get stronger then?"

"_You must take the first step."_ The fox replied from within the burrow.

"What is the first step?" Tatsuki asked but once more there was no reply. She grit her teeth and got back down to peer into the hole again as she called out, "Honoban."

Something hit the ground beside her making her glance over to find the fox sitting there and had brought her weapons back to her. She looked at it questioningly as it said, _"The first step has been taken."_

"What's the second?" Tatsuki asked.

"_Acceptance,"_ Honoban replied. _"When you accept my existence my power will be yours to use as you see fit but for now you may only wield me_."

"How can I accept something so bizarre?" Tatsuki asked.

"_Acceptance will come in time but before that happens you must enforce your resolve."_ Honoban replied. _"You fear hurting those dear to you but if you keep that fear that it will only come to pass and she will be the first one to suffer that pain you fear inflicting."_

Tatsuki's eyes widened with fear as those last words reached her ears. "I will never harm Orihime."

"_You must banish your fear, Tatsuki."_ Honoban said._ "When wielding my powers your heart cannot know fear for it will only hurt those you wish to protect."_

"I will never hurt the people I want to protect." Tatsuki said with a slight anger.

"_Then face the fears you so easily run from."_ Honoban said.

"I'm not running from my fears." Tatsuki snapped. "I'm not afraid."

"_Prove to me that you are unafraid even when surrounded by what frightens you." _Honoban commanded. _"If you cannot defeat your fear than you will never hold the power to protect but only harm."_


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer::I own nothing but half the idea. lol**

**Chapter 05: Fears**

The grass field was slowly consumed in fire that quickly engulfed the whole field. Tatsuki looked around with panicked and soon found no trace of Honoban around. All she was left with was her zanpakutou and nothing else to tell her what she was really supposed to be doing here. She picked up and slowly stood up only to find she was no longer in her school uniform but was wearing the soul reaper outfit she normally trained in. She shrugged and slid her weapons under her sash for easier access when she needed it.

Tatsuki looked around and found nothing but fire that continued to engulf everything alive except for her making her wonder if she was immune to the fire here like she was immune to her reiatsu when it materialized. Her eyes widened as she realized that she wasn't getting hurt by the fire because it was her reiatsu. It was out of control and destroying everything around her as if it were nothing. She thought back at how she had first come out of this place and found the ground around her burnt to ash making her realize that she had been covered by her reiatsu then as well.

She approached some of the fire and placed her hand over it. It was warm but didn't sear her skin at all when she allowed her hand to get closer so she was touching it and found that there was no pain in doing this even as it swallowed up her hand and crawled up her arm. Soon it engulfed her completely and burned her but at the same time it left no marks to prove that it was happening but the pain that she felt was immense and there was nothing she could do to stop it from burning her.

The pain was unimaginable making her scream out and fall to her knees helplessly to do anything to prevent the consuming flames from devouring her completely. The fire wasn't just on her it, she could feel it inside her consuming her completely. It burned her muscles and organs while boiling her blood until there was none left to run through her veins. Her heat tightened and fought to pump blood through her body while she tried desperately to choke air into her shriveling lungs so that she could breathe. The pain became too much for her and she completely collapse to the ground.

Just like it had started so suddenly it stopped in the same way leaving Tatsuki lying on the ground panting painfully at the feeling of her nerves reawakened inside her. The fire had left her but the heat was still deep inside her almost threatening her to move so it could ignite the flames inside her to consume her completely this time. Her heart raced as her fear of that pain intensified and she remembered exactly what had happened when she had lost control of her reiatsu before it was sealed. At the recollection alone she knew that it had been done to prevent something like that from happening to her when she tried to control it all at and she had no complaint against it.

Her hand twitched making Tatsuki shut her eyes tightly and wait for the pain to return and then pass but nothing came. She hesitantly opened her eyes just waiting for any form of pain but nothing came. Slowly, she moved her hand and then her arm in a testing manner to see if it were safe for her to move. When no pain came she slowly got up and the heat inside her died down to just a warm feeling that lingered in her chest.

Tatsuki continued on through the burning field while keeping a safe distance from the fires while the dying embers inside her disappeared to nothing. The only heat she felt now was from the surrounding flames. She continued walking and found herself almost lighter making her wonder if the weights had been taken off of her. A slight smile formed on her face with the urge to run and see just how fast she could go despite what was going on around her. She felt free in this field of fire regardless of the dangers around her.

Before she could run around and enjoy the feeling a scream filled the field making her turn around. There was a hollow here and it was attacking someone on the other side of the field. Tatsuki wasted no time and ran over to the hollow with the same anger she had felt when she fought the last one. When she was halfway she unsheathed her weapons and held them tightly in her grip and soon found that it was Orihime being preyed on by the hollow. She was on the ground helpless to the hollow that advanced on her.

When she got closer to the hollow she felt the immense pressure of the weights pulling her down but even more so than they had when she first put them on. Tatsuki stumbled and tried desperately to regain her balance a few feet away from where she tripped. She looked up and found the hollow almost on top of her with Orihime unconscious in its hand. Her eyes widened while her legs shook under the weight they had to support.

It wasn't long before one of her legs collapsed and she was kneeling before the hollow that threatened to devour her. The hollow reached for her but she swung at it using her whole upper body as momentum and managed to slice its hand. It retreated with a loud howl before trying to grab her once more. There wasn't much she could do about it this time.

Tatsuki closed her eyes and waited for her death but when nothing happened she opened her eyes and found the hollows hand only a few feet away from her but everything had stopped. She tried to get up but found that she no longer had control over her body. All she could do was watch while nothing happened around her. _"What is your intent?"_

She tried to look around in search of the voice but she couldn't even move her head to do so. All she could do was watch what was right in front of her. Her fear picked up when she noticed that the hollow was beginning to move towards her as if fighting against whatever was stopping things from moving. Tatsuki tried to move away or even move her body to attack it but she could only remain physically frozen before death.

"_Your life will soon be at its end."_ Honoban's voice was so close making her believe that he was right beside her. _"Do you accept this fear so easily that you forfeit your defense?"_

'No,' Tatsuki though. 'I don't want to die, I want to kill this and save Orihime.'

"_What is it that you desire most?"_ Honoban spoke into her ear. _"Do you wish its death or do you wish to save Orihime? Perhaps you wish to submit to your fear and find your death."_

'I want to save Orihime.' Tatsuki thought as she struggled even more to free herself.

The hollow continued even closer to Tatsuki but she still couldn't move. Her heart raced inside her chest and she closed her eyes trying to brace for whatever was next to come. She knew that with the slowness of the hollows movements she would be bracing herself for a while. A single tear rolled down her cheek at the thought of dying now. 'I don't want to die, not until I kill this thing for what it's done.'

Suddenly her body didn't feel heavy like it had before nor did she feel any stiffness in it. She opened her eyes and found the hollow was just now beginning to close its hand around her. She felt enraged that she was so helpless even after the two days of intense training. She should at least be able to kill this hollow by now. In her anger she gripped her sword in her hand.

Upon doing so she realized that she could move so she swung both short swords upwards while she rose to her feet. The hollow pulled away quickly and things began moving at its regular pace again. It howled in a painful rage and threw Orihime aside to put its full focus on Tatsuki. She didn't even think of what to do and just moved around the hollow's attack. Her only focus was getting to Orihime and assuring her safety. When that was done Tatsuki would deal with the hollow and she would kill it.

The hollow tried to catch her but everything slowed around Tatsuki but she held her current pace making her smirk while she leapt over the hollow's arm with complete ease and allowed her blade to slice through it. Her blade cut through its skin like she was cutting through air and found it much easier than the European ones she used when she fought her first hollow.

Tatsuki didn't stop until she was already past Orihime, who continued to fly through the air at a slow pace until Tatsuki came to a stop behind her. Things returned to their usual pace and she quickly cast aside one of her weapons to catch Orihime. The force of the impact pushed her back a little but she kept her balance carefully to assure no other harm could come to the girl in her grasp.

The hollow howled in pain again and grasped at the new wound on its arm. Tatsuki watched it with a loathing glare and lowered Orihime to the ground carefully to make sure she was alright. When Orihime was safely on the ground Tatsuki rose to her feet finding that the hollow was already after her again but everything slowed around them letting Honoban speak, _"What do you have planned now?"_

'I plan on stopping that thing before it gets anywhere close to Orihime.' Tatsuki answered in her mind. 'Once I've stopped it I'm going to destroy it.'

Things went back to normal for a short moment before Tatsuki took off towards the hollow and everything slowed around her. She lowered herself enough to pick up her discarded sword without stopping before going straight for the hollow. Along the way she observed how light she felt so she figured it might be possible for her to jump higher then she normally could have. When she neared the hollow she decided to test her theory and jumped straight of the hollows mask knowing that was the best and easiest way to kill it.

She leapt straight to it with ease and sliced through the mask without any effort before planting her feet on it and used it to launch herself off before it disappeared. It was gone before she even touched the ground and pride soared through her at her accomplishment. She had no problems with that fight after she knew what she wanted to happen. If that was all it would take then she was confident that any fight would be easy for her.

Tatsuki sheathed her swords and went back to where she had left Orihime. When she was by her side she bent down and brought her into a sitting position with one arm. Tatsuki brushed the hair out of Orihime's face and found an uncomfortable look on her face as she began to stir from her unconscious state. Her eyes slowly opened and she looked at Tatsuki, "Why are you here."

"I'm here to protect you." Tatsuki said gently. "I promised that I'd always protect you, remember?"

Orihime smiled weakly in response there was another howl behind them making Tatsuki look over to find a swarm of hollows quickly approaching them. Her grip on Orihime tightened a little and she held her zanpakutou tight in her free hand. The hollows were only getting closer and she had no strategy against them aside from a blind assault in hopes of taking them out before they got too close to Orihime. "I have to take care of this, Orihime. I won't be long."

She released Orihime regardless of all complaints the girl made and walked towards the hollows. She couldn't allow to have even a moment of weakness when this girl was in danger and she couldn't risk glancing back to give her reassurance and allow the hollows to get closer to them. Tatsuki unsheathed her swords with a rising anger growing inside her that pushed her forward to the hollows to fight all of them off as quickly as she could without letting any of them get past her. The grip she held on her swords tightened as she leapt at the closest one and felt things slowing around her again and she didn't question it.

Her blade went through its forehead and things returned to their normal pace. It seemed that things only went at a slower pace when she was moving with the intent to kill or protect otherwise everything moved at a normal rate. That was fine though, this would end either way and if she could move faster than them then it would just make all of this end quicker than she thought it would. The faster this went the stronger she knew she had become after her training and the more potential she knew that she had with these new abilities.

Tatsuki jumped off the dying hollow and went to the next one then the next. The hollows soon began dropping like flies under her attacks. It wasn't until she downed a handful of them that it dawned on her that she was using flash step. She smiled happily at the thought before moving to the next hollow to slay that one instantly as well. They were thinning out rather quickly considering the starting number of them but that just made Tatsuki happier as she began to marvel at her accomplishments.

When she killed the last hollow a slight smile formed on her face and she realized that she didn't even have a scratch on her and that she hadn't even broken a sweat throughout all of that or even from the fires raging around her then something large struck her and sent her flying. A terrified scream reached her ears making her look over to Orihime to find being taken by another hollow while other hollows surrounded her.

Tatsuki hit the ground and forced herself up despite the pain she felt from the hit and readied herself to attack. She ran at the hollow that had taken Orihime without bothering much with the others in her way only jumping to get in a hit close to their mask in hopes of killing it but ended up missing most of them due to her complete lack of concentration on the matter. At most she was able to kill one or two of them on the way and soon she was cutting the hollow that held Orihime.

It released her and grabbed its wrist where it had been cut. Tatsuki was right beside Orihime immediately and held up her guard against the hollows that were quickly surrounding them. She couldn't let a single one get close to them now or it would all be over for them. Her best chance was to clear a path and run through them to get Orihime away before she took on the rest of them. 'I need more power.'

She requested it and it came to her in a surge that heated up her body but she didn't fear it this time. This time was different, there was control now. Tatsuki had requested it and it had come to her for her to use it the way she wanted to. It felt good pulsing through her body and the hollows seemed to back away nervously at the flames that began to cover her body. The hollows turned and quickly fled making her smirk victoriously at their cowardice.

Orihime screamed making Tatsuki turn with panic almost expected a hollow to have remained and tried to attack but there was nothing there. She looked down at Orihime to find her withering on the ground being consumed by the flames of her reiatsu. Tatsuki was down beside her in an instant and did everything that she could to help her. Her eyes widened with fear at the realization that she still didn't have control of her power and now it had hurt Orihime. But it wasn't her power that hurt her, it was the greed Tatsuki held for having more power. If she didn't have that greed then this wouldn't have happened.

Tatsuki brought Orihime closer to her in hopes that her own body would help smother the reiatsu since it hadn't latched onto her to consume her as well. The closer she got to Orihime the more she was being pushed away by her, "You're hurting me, Tatsuki."

Her eyes widened and her grip on Orihime fell away and no time was wasted in pushing her away. The flames died down the instant they separated. She felt her heart breaking at what she had just done, "I didn't want to hurt you, Orihime. Believe me that's the last thing I want."

"But you did hurt me, Tatsuki." Orihime said.

Tatsuki felt completely broken and even more so when everything faded away around her and Orihime was replaced with Honoban. Everything went back to normal in an instant and Tatsuki was back in her school uniform. Anger boiled inside her as she realized that it was all just an illusion, just a sick joke that had been played on her. She met Honoban's eyes angrily and snapped at him, "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"_I will not allow my true power to be wielded by such fear."_ Honoban said calmly._ "Now you know what it is that you must overcome but I shall ease your thoughts in telling you that my power will not harm you as you so fear it though desire it as you do and it will enthral you."_

"Then what about before?" Tatsuki asked.

"_You were not ready then thus your greed used my power to consume your being."_ Honoban replied. "_Greed shall entice your fear into reality as you have already bore witness to and it shall continue to stimulate your fears into your mind. Your will to act will allow you to achieve what is necessary but any further and you shall be preyed upon."_

"What can I do then?" Tatsuki asked.

"_Cast aside your fears and accept what is in your reach and what is not. When that is done then you will be closer to what you wish to achieve with this." _Honoban replied._ "You have learned enough for now, leave this place."_

Tatsuki closed her and took a deep breath. When she opened her eyes again she found herself back at Urahara's shop. She glanced around and found that Yoruichi had left while Urahara was still sitting at the table watching her, "How'd it go?"

"I don't know." Tatsuki admitted. "Probably not as well as it could have gone."

"Zanpakutou spirits can be odd at times." Urahara said. "But creating a bond is necessary if you want to become stronger."

"Do they normally play with fear?" Tatsuki asked.

"Maybe if they think it's necessary." Urahara said. "I've never heard of a zanpakutou preying on its mater's fears before though."

"Honoban threw me into all my fears." Tatsuki said as she lowered her gaze to the ground.

"Strange," Urahara muttered. "Was anything mentioned about it?"

Tatsuki nodded, "I can only use Honoban's full power if I have no fear in my heart."

"Then you have to face your fears if you really want that power." Urahara said. "It will be difficult for you and you'll have to do it on your own."

"I can't face all that again, there's no way I can relive that." Tatsuki said as recalling what she had done to Orihime. "I can't see that look on her face ever again. There's just no way I could ever deal with that. There were things that happened that I never even want to think about."

"It was just an illusion set up for you to face your fears, none of it was real." Urahara reassured. "A zanpakutou will never put its master in danger."

"But there was so much pain." Tatsuki said with a shaky voice.

"There's not a scratch on you and there never once was." Urahara stated. "The only time you will be in danger in your inner world is when you are fighting your zanpakutou spirit but the chances of being put into a situation like that is very slim because it is still uncertain how much of a real zanpakutou that really is."

"What do you mean?" Tatsuki asked as she looked back at him. "You said everything about Honoban was like an actual zanpakutou. How could it not be?"

"A real zanpakutou has three forms, there is the sealed form, which is the regular form, then there is the second form called shikai." Urahara explained. "The final form is bankai, and the only way to achieve that is to fight and defeat your zanpakutou spirit in combat but before you can do that you will need to materialize it to the material world. It is extremely difficult to achieve and takes years of practice and meditation before even getting close to it."

"What if I can achieve that though?" Tatsuki asked. "What happens then?"

"Then you achieve it." Urahara said. "If you don't then your potential after that will be limited until you achieve it. It's your choice on how far you want to pursue this but long before that time comes you will have control over your reiatsu. That part of your training will start today after you combat training."

"Sounds good," Tatsuki said. "I'll go ahead and start then."

She tried to get up but immediately fell back down from the weight. Honoban had taken it away when she was in her inner world so she had forgotten about it and had to readjust now. On her second attempt she made it up and felt the stiffness in her limbs immediately. She groaned and started for the door at a painfully slow pace compared to her free unrestricted movement in her inner world. "When are these damned things coming off?"

"When Yoruichi says it's okay." Urahara replied with a smile.

"Stop enjoying this." Tatsuki said angrily.

Urahara laughed at her struggle and she slammed the door shut behind her. As she walked down the hallway she heard a bit of arguing in the shop area making her peek in cautiously to see what was going on and found Keigo was arguing with Tessai about something. They argued for a moment before Keigo noticed Tatsuki standing there. He rushed over to her much to her annoyance, "Tatsuki, I knew you were here. What happened in class today? What did you do?"

"What was what?" Tatsuki asked trying to be oblivious to what he was talking about.

"That fire you started." Keigo said

"Keigo, I'm a little busy right now." Tatsuki said. "Can we talk about this later? On second thought can we not?"

"Oh, so now you're keeping secrets from everyone too?" Keigo asked angrily.

"You can't be here right now." Tatsuki said quietly. "You're going to get me in trouble."

"Fine then we'll talk somewhere else." He said grabbing her arm.

Tatsuki leaned back a little against the pull but with all the weight she had to carry there was no way he would be able to pull her without help from someone really strong. He quickly gave up and got behind her to try and push her out of the shop but she simply straightened herself and shifted one foot forward for balance while Keigo tried to push her to no avail. "You're an idiot, Keigo."

"Am… not." He panted as he struggled to push Tatsuki. "You…weigh… a ton."

A slight vein pulsed in Tatsuki's forehead so she stepped to the side making Keigo fall flat on his face. He was up in an instant. "What's your problem?"

"My problem is that I have things to do and I can't do it with you here." Tatsuki said. "I'm leaving."

She turned and walked down the hallway towards the trapdoor but he continued to follow her down the hallway and she knew there was no way of getting rid of him now. At least she would be able to make it down the ladder faster than he would but after that he would be faster than her. She got to the trapdoor but she felt that she had to try to get him to leave this place, "Why are you following me?"

"Because I'm tired of being kept in the dark." He answered. "And since you're involved in this I want to be too."

Tatsuki glanced back at him and said, "You're an idiot."

"I am not." He argued.

Tatsuki just shook her head and opened the trap door and started down before trying desperately to lock it on him but he opened it before she could find a lock. She let out a sigh and continued down without much argument since this was already fairly difficult for her to do with an extra five hundred pounds. While her struggle continued she began to wonder if Honoban could ease the weight she carried like he had done in her inner world or had that just been done because she was facing her fears.

**Authors note:** During Tatsuki's small illusion of all her fears she sees Orihime as she had when they first met and she was being bullied so she fears seeing her being in that position again. Tatsuki is also unaware of just how powerful Orihime really is and with her need to protect her any strength she possesses isn't as important as protecting her. Because her main reason, and what she was told about Orihime's situation, she fears anything happening to her and she's helpless to do something even with her training.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer::I own nothing but half the idea. lol**

**Chapter 06: Weightless**

Keigo had persistently followed Tatsuki to where she usually trained all the while prying with annoying questions. When she got to the area encircled by rocks she noticed a few things had been set up for different types of things. By the scorch marks from her first outburst were some target boards while in the center of the area were what looked like pillars positioned around like some sort of course. She looked around curiously for any signs of Yoruichi but found none anywhere. It was strange for her not to be here already since she was always here before her. Tatsuki let out a sigh as she figured she'll just have to wait for Yoruichi to arrive and explain the days training.

She looked around once more figuring it might be a good idea to get a better grasp of her surrounding objects since they were going to be used. Off to the side she noticed the wooden box that probably held her soul reaper uniform in it. She walked over to it while Keigo was still looking around but he soon noticed her leave and caught up with a light jog since running wasn't necessary for him. "Hey, Tatsuki what's with this place?"

"It's nothing you need to worry about." Tatsuki answered.

By the time they got to the box Tatsuki had a headache and a rather heavy need to punch Keigo in the face and she would have if it hadn't been for the weight attached to her arm. She was grateful the box was on a table which gave her a little less work to do but she still had to send Keigo off since she had no intention of changing in front of him. He was so much of a pervert that he would love to watch her change even if he didn't like her in that way.

She opened the box and found a note at the top of the pile. The note was put aside as she took out her uniform and zanpakutou before looking over at Keigo. "If you don't want to get hurt you should find a place to stand where you can't see me."

He gave her a stranger look but before he could argue against leaving Tatsuki unsheathed one of her short swords and pointed it at his neck while only giving him a quick glance before she read the note;

_This test is for your mobility, you must survive for as long as you can before you receive a direct hit. Stay hidden for as you can and keep moving. Don't try looking for your attacker that's not your task, just survive. You have five minutes of spare time after reading this._

Tatsuki placed the note down before glancing back at Keigo, "You definitely want to run away right now before you get caught up in this."

He offered a slight nod and ran away though she knew he likely wouldn't go far but after what had happened at school he definitely wouldn't go far until he got at least some sort of answer for it. Tatsuki turned back to the table and started undoing her shirt before she heard Keigo scream. She turned and found him on the ground as he looked around frantically before rolling to the side. He then scrambled to his feet and ran faster than she had ever seen him run before.

She shrugged and changed as fast as she could since that distraction had cost her some time. By the time she slid her zanpakutou under her sash she knew that her time must be close to up. Just as she was thinking that something whizzed by her face. Her eyes widened at the sight of a throwing knife hitting the rock in front of her and pierced it as easily as it would have flesh. She could only faintly feel blood drip down her cheek in her shock of the wound.

She turned and ran to the closest pillar for cover realizing why they were here. Her back was pressed against it instantly and she began to realize why Keigo had freaked then sprinted away, he was being attacked as well. He may be an idiot but she still hoped he was okay. It wouldn't be good if he got hurt because of whatever was attacking her and since she hadn't forced him to leave she was at fault for any of the injuries he might get here.

Tatsuki glanced around for better hiding spots but found there were none since she was on the perimeter of pillars. It was likely safest in the center since there would be more places for to her to hide but at the same time it gave her attacker the exact same advantage against her but at least that way she would have a bit of equal footing against her attacker, at least she hoped that it would be equal so she wouldn't be at a constant disadvantage in this exercise.

She left the pillar and ran to the closest one hearing more knives pierce the stone right where she had been. Each knife was just barely avoided telling her that if she didn't move often then she could easily be very badly hurt or even killed. Her back hit the pillar and she was already panting heavily with tire from the weights. She knew that she should continue on as frequently as possible even if she fell short on breath but her eyes never stopped scanning what was around her. There was no way of knowing who was throwing knives at her or what they were aiming for or even how many knives they had and she wasn't all that willing to wait around and find out.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw movement, another knife was being thrown at her. Without thinking Tatsuki raised her arm to block it knowing immediately that it was a mistake. The knife hit her arm and ricocheted to the side making a cocky grin form on her face with the realization that the knife couldn't puncture the armor she wore on her arms but unfortunately that was the only place where she had armor to protect her from the knives being thrown at her.

Her smile faded instantly when she noticed another knife had been thrown at her. She dived out of the way not wanting to try and block it and miss the knife or the first ricocheted was just a fluke. The moment she hit the ground she was struggling to get back to her feet so that she could move closer to the center of the pillars. She hid behind one just barely avoiding a knife that made contact with the side of the pillar and a little too close for her comfort.

It had only been a few minutes and she already felt like collapsing from exhaustion. She took a deep breath before running to the next pillar. A clanging noise behind her told her that she had moved just in time to avoid being hit. As she reached the next pillar she completely collapsed on it. There was no way she could do this. She was far too exhausted to be moving like this.

Tatsuki slowly began to slide down the pillar no longer able to hold herself up even with the aid of the pillar. She clenched her fists in anger and she hit the pillar hated herself being this weak but she was too exhausted to do this efficiently. A knife was placed against her neck and pulled up making her stand up properly much to her dismay since her lack of strength made it impossible to stand and her legs shook from her tire and the weight.

"Are you done already?" Yoruichi asked.

"I can't do this." Tatsuki said with clenched fists. "I'm so exhausted I can barely even move."

"If you still found it east to move I would be impressed." Yoruichi said. "When I told you your training would be intense this wasn't exactly what I had in mind."

Yoruichi removed the knife from Tatsuki's neck allowing her to collapse against the pillar. "How much more training do I have?"

"There's enough to put you to your knees and make you beg for it to stop." Yoruichi replied. "But it's time for a break, after that you'll redo this exercise."

Tatsuki groaned and attempted to collapse to the ground but was held up by Yoruichi so she wouldn't fall. She used the pillar to straighten herself up again and she looked back at Yoruichi, "I thought we were taking a break."

The woman just smiled at her and guided her out of the training area while Tatsuki unwillingly dragged her feet the whole way. She was amazed at how easily Yoruichi was able to carry her when she couldn't even move anymore even though she had to deal with the stress of the weights for longer than she had already carried it. They walked in silence and left the secluded area behind them and continued on until they reached a decent sized hot spring.

The steaming water made Tatsuki want to just jump in and allow her sore muscles to relax until they stopped hurting if she could but if she went in there with the weights then she wouldn't be able to get out since they would double under water. Tatsuki looked over at Yoruichi in horror as she said, "Please don't tell me I have to get in there."

"Yeah," Yoruichi said. "But the weight are coming off, I'm not trying to kill you."

Tatsuki relaxed a little and Yoruichi released her to walk over to the spring. She immediately removed her zanpakutou from her sash and dropped it to the ground with a sigh. Yoruichi looked over at her with a smile. "You disarm yourself too easily."

Yoruichi disappeared before Tatsuki could pick up her guard and in an instant Yoruichi was in front of her with a tight grip on her robes before throwing her forward and right into the hot spring. She sank right to the bottom and she struggled to get out but only ended up on her back. The only air left in her lungs escaped her in her struggle to get free from the water but each attempt was fruitless.

Her struggles began to subside and she felt a slight warmth on her chest that spread through her arms and legs before her body was pulled up. She broke the surface choking for air while she was pulled to the side of the spring by Yoruichi. Tatsuki glared at the woman for what she had just done to her. When she was placed at the side Yoruichi got out of the water and walked away while Tatsuki did all she could to regulate her breathing.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Tatsuki demanded angrily. "I could have died."

"This is the best way for you to readjust to the change of weight. If I took the weights off while you weren't in water you would be completely unbalanced." Yoruichi said. "You're more restricted in water so the difference will be easier to adjust to but you still shouldn't move much on your own yet. Just relax for now and take it easy."

Tatsuki let out an angered sigh but her anger soon turned to awkwardness as Yoruichi jumped into the water next to her completely in the nude. A sly smile formed on the woman's face while she began to strip Tatsuki who blushed up completely in her awkwardness. When the last of her clothes were removed she looked away out of fear of what was to come and hated every feeling that her body was having without her consent but she couldn't control it.

Yoruichi leaned closer to her making her heart race even though the woman was only placing her wet clothes on the ground leaving only slight contact underwater making her face burn even deeper. Tatsuki pressed her body against the rock behind her to make herself as flat as possible to try and avoid any further physical contact with this woman. Yoruichi was beautiful and Tatsuki could not deny that fact nor could she deny the arousal that was slowly stirring inside her from this situation and that single instant of contact.

Yoruichi pulled away from Tatsuki and sat beside her as the girl sank down in her embarrassment and looked further away from her. "Are you embarrassed, Tatsuki?"

Tatsuki offered a slight nod making Yoruichi laugh, "If you're that embarrassed then move somewhere else. It should be easy for you now."

Tatsuki nodded weakly and shifted to the side away from Yoruichi but didn't dare look over at the woman out of fear that her arousal may get the better of her in this situation. She brought her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them before resting her chin on her knees and let out a sigh at the nice feeling of fading stiffness in her muscles.

"How are you feeling now?" Yoruichi asked.

"Awkward," Tatsuki answered. "But my muscles don't hurt anymore."

"There's no reason for you to feel awkward." Yoruichi reassured. "Unless you feel awkward because your friend is still sneaking around."

Tatsuki's face paled and she tried to sink down some more in the water to avoid being even partially visible. She cursed herself for not being forceful when telling Keigo to leave. Now she was paying for it while he continued to snoop around and was possibly even peeping on the two of them. This was just going to add more problems to what was already happening. Once he learns of her training he'll want to get involved as well but he couldn't. There was no way he'd be able to handle it, Tatsuki could barely handle it and she had been training all her life.

"Why can't that guy ever listen?" Tatsuki muttered.

"He's concerned about you." Yoruichi said. "He's the only one that knows what happened at your school today. He has too much spiritual awareness for the memory chikan to work efficiently but I assure you he will remain quiet towards others."

"There's still no reason for him to be down here." Tatsuki said angrily.

"I'm sure you would be doing the same thing if you were in his position." Yoruichi chuckled. "But you probably wouldn't try and peek."

Tatsuki buried her face in her knees with a groan, "I'm going to kick his ass."

"Your body hasn't adjusted yet." Yoruichi said calmly. "He can't see anything anyways and who cares if he does?"

"I care, he's in all my classes. You have no idea how much he would boast about this." Tatsuki said. "If this spreads around who knows what people will start to think and how far they would go with it."

"You humans worry way too much." Yoruichi said as she stood up. "I'll escort him out."

Before Tatsuki could even argue Yoruichi had disappeared and soon after she heard Keigo yell out in surprise when he was caught. Tatsuki sank down lower under the water listening to the yelling continue behind her. She didn't even dare to turn around and see what was happening behind her between Keigo and the woman. Not even when the argument died down then faded away completely.

She let out a long breath of relief at the quiet and she stretched out her legs to find that her body didn't feel very restricted under water. She shrugged thinking it must be due to the fact that it was harder for her to move with the weights then underwater so she leaned back to relax but her mind wouldn't relax now. All she could think about were the possibilities that her body held now as she recalled how free she felt in her inner world without them.

Cautiously she moved to the center of the spring while keeping her body hidden underwater just in case Keigo was still around but when she got to the center she found that it was deep enough to move around while on her toes but she had no intention of being above water so she took a deep breath and sank under before doing a few karate moves while keeping enough distance away from the surface so she wouldn't accidently go up until she had to.

She started with simple movements to begin then moved to simple kicks. Each move was executed easily with little strain until the last of her stiffness faded to nothing. She increased the difficulty of the moves from beginner to more experienced moves with ease but soon she would have to surface for air though it didn't stop her from getting the most out of this exercise.

Tatsuki practiced for as long as she could before pushing herself above the surface of the water. She took in as much as she could while slicking back her hair a bit so it wasn't in her eyes. "Enjoying yourself under there?"

She turned around and found Yoruichi had returned and was sitting where she was before. The two smiled at each other before Tatsuki answered, "I figured I might exercise a bit to adjust easier."

"And here I thought training was becoming too much for you to handle." Yoruichi said and her smile became more sly. "Don't tell me you were holding back on me all this time."

"The training's fine but the weights are too much." Tatsuki replied. "How much more weight training will there be after this?"

"That depends on how well you do on the next exercise." Yoruichi said. "But for now how about I add some more weight to your little exercise."

"No thanks." Tatsuki said before taking a quick breath and sinking back underwater to continue with her exercise. She moved to the basics of her level of moves and found even these were easy for her to do but the water was beginning to slow her down telling her that her body had readjusted to these restrictions.

It wasn't long before she was having too much trouble and decided to stop before she hurt herself even more then she had done in the past couple of days but all the pain had seemed to have disappeared when she started to relax in this water. It was strange and brought forth more questions for her that would likely be left unanswered just like all the other ones were but her mind wondered about it all the same as she broke the surface for air.

Tatsuki looked over expecting Yoruichi to comment on something but found that the woman had already left. She let out a slight sigh of relief and she moved her hair out of her face before swimming to the side where her robes had been left. When she reached them she recalled that they would still be soaked from when she was thrown into the water earlier. She understood now why it had been done but a warning beforehand would have been appreciated though it was very likely that she only got a break from her training was so that her body would readjust to moving with less weight.

It was clear that Yoruichi had left to prepare the next training session which would be the same as the last one but she knew that she would do much better on the second try. Tatsuki hoisted herself out of the water and picked up her soaked robes. She held them up to let the ice cold water dripped from them with irritation feeling how heaver they were from the water. She tried to squeeze out as much water out of her robes as she could before putting the top part on and wrapping it around her.

A cold chill went through her from the icy cool of the wet cloth on her skin making her shiver before she noticed that her zanpakutou had been placed on a rock along with a clean and dry set of robes that were brought for her and placed in plain sight, if looking in that direction. Tatsuki went over quickly as she was anxious to get into dry robes while she shook the access water from her hair.

When she got to the clean roes she immediately cast aside the damp ones and put on the clean ones and she noticed there was something on the inside of the shitagi's hem that wasn't present on the other one. There was a wide diamond shape with the points cut off with black while the inside of it was white and contained the kanji character for the number two.

She put aside her curiosity in favor of getting dressed to warm up but it continued to persist in her mind even when she slid her zanpakutou under her sash and walked back to the training grounds while putting on the armor. Tatsuki was so lost in these thoughts she failed to notice how light her body felt to her now and that the cut on her cheek was gone and had been since she had been pulled to the surface of the water but even with that ignorance a smile formed on her lips with a sense of pride. She felt that the number on the shitagi meant she was a part of something bigger than she was before and to her that meant she was closer to her goal.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer::I own nothing but half the idea. lol**

**Chapter 07: A leaf on the wind**

Tatsuki stood a few feet from the pillars with both swords in hand and waited for any sort of signal for her to begin. When that signal came she would advance to the pillars and make her way in while trying to avoid being hit while trying to figure out a way to find her attacker and confront them. She didn't want to play a game of cat and mouse when she held the determination to do so much more than that. However until there was a signal she would stand there and wait.

Her eyes narrowed at the sense of a strange presence around her making her tighten her grip on her swords while bringing up her guard. She saw a bit of movement making her glance up to the top of the pillars where she spotted Yoruichi standing. The moment she saw the woman she knew that it had been her there the whole time throwing knives at her. Yoruichi threw a knife at her and Tatsuki waited for it knowing that this was no warning for her to move, it was an attack.

She swung her blade and deflected it before running into the array of pillars for cover but this time her focus was not on her surroundings like it had been previously. Now it was on the presence that was moving around above her. She focused on it to try and find a pattern in Yoruichi's movements and soon found that she was always moving to avoid being detected but she came to a stop when throwing a knife. Tatsuki dodged most of the knives with ease though she feigned ignorance to her discovery. This time she would not be the target, she would turn this around on Yoruichi, though she didn't know how yet.

A slight smile formed on her face when she dodged another knife and continued running towards the center of the pillars. As she neared another pillar another throwing knife was thrown at her. She glanced over at it before moving back to avoid it and it hit the pillar beside her. She changed direction and went to that pillar while focusing even more on Yoruichi's presence to make sure she wasn't seen.

She grabbed the knife and pulled it out while making sure she didn't drop her zanpakutou in the process before sliding around the pillar and carefully slid the knife under her armor. When it was secured she noticed the presence come to a stop on a pillar not too far from her. Tatsuki glanced over slowly and found Yoruichi throwing another knife at her. She knew that this one had to be a narrow dodge to keep up her rouse of ignorance with the woman.

At the last second she took off in the direction of the center while her thoughts raced on how she could get Yoruichi down or how she could get up the pillars. There was little confidence that the one knife she had would hit Yoruichi let alone knock her down even if she was standing completely still for her. The chances were beyond slim and that's not what Tatsuki had in mind when she grabbed the knife in the first place or even when she thought of grabbing a knife to use.

No, her plan for it was different. When they were on even ground she would use it and before that moment came she would not allow Yoruichi to even know she had it and she hoped that she hadn't noticed her take it or hide it under her armor. Her plan was not yet fully formed since she had no way of getting up to Yoruichi or to get her down to the ground since it was likely that she was able to get up there easily so Tatsuki would have to get up there but how was the question. Unless…

'Honoban,' Tatsuki called out in her mind. 'When I was in my inner world I was using flash step, right?"

"_Your assumption is correct."_ Honoban replied.

'Can I use it now or were you just granting me the ability?' Tatsuki asked.

"_I am unable to grant you an ability that you do not possess."_ Honoban replied.

'So I can use it then.' Tatsuki said.

"_Yes, however your skill with it is slim." _Honoban said. _"What you wish to attempt will be difficult for you."_

'If I can do it then that's enough.' Tatsuki thought while putting her back against a pillar and looked at another in front of her. 'Help me with this.'

The presence above her slowed to a stop and Tatsuki took in a deep breath feeling Honoban give her strength and she knew that it was now or never. She released her breath and the knife was thrown at her. She felt things slow down around her as she ran directly at the pillar before her and leapt for it. She planted her foot on it and ran up it with surprising ease making her feel almost weightless. A smile formed on her lips when she realized that she was doing what she had been fantasizing about all day, defying gravity.

The weight of gravity was quickly catching up with her the closer to the top of the pillar and her current goal but she pushed on with the strength Honoban was giving her. When she neared the top her foot slipped and she began to fall backwards. In an instant Yoruichi was in front of her catching her and pulling her up with a smile, "I wasn't expecting you to learn that so fast. I'm impressed, Tatsuki."

"It's not the first time I've done it." Tatsuki admitted as she got her footing and Yoruichi jumped back. "I used it in my inner worlds earlier but that was the most I've pushed it so far."

The smile formed on Yoruichi's face grew, "I knew I was right in giving you that shihakusho, you're a fast learner with so much potential. It's like I'm training Ichigo all over again except unlike him you're not just stubbornly pushing forward without making any plans."

"What do you mean?" Tatsuki asked curiously.

"When he had leisure time he took it while you continued to move on and train underwater during your break." The smile grew on her face. "There's also that knife you tried so hard to hide. You did well but I noticed it when I helped you up."

"Well, so much for that plan then." Tatsuki said with a smile as she picked up her guard.

"Before we continue, tell me." Yoruichi started. "You didn't make it this high up without help did you?"

"I asked for some help." Tatsuki admitted.

"You're a much faster learner then Ichigo." Yoruichi said. "You may just surpass him one day. If you keep up that is."

With that she was gone but Tatsuki could still feel presence moving around her almost restless with excitement for what would happen next. She picked up her guard and waited for an attack or an opening so she could make her own attack. Things were more dangerous now, she would have less time to avoid or block a knife and if she lost her balance she would fall and Yoruichi might not be able to catch her next time and that would be a bad ending to her training.

When Yoruichi began to slow down Tatsuki moved. She turned to face Yoruichi at the moment the knife was thrown and it was easily knocked away before Tatsuki jumped at Yoruichi but she had already left. Tatsuki landed on the pillar and already had to move again to avoid another knife. She winced as it grazed her arm and left a shallow cut below her shoulder. Blood began to bead and trickle down her arm in small streams as she jumped from pillar to pillar in hopes of putting distance between her and Yoruichi. It was useless and she soon felt Yoruichi's presence easily overcome her own making her quickly change directions and sheathed one of her swords to pull out the throwing knife from under her armor.

Tatsuki paid close attention to Yoruichi's presence around her while coming to a stop so she could wait for the next attack. The moment Yoruichi came to a stop beside her Tatsuki threw the knife before using flash step to get away in hopes of distracting the woman enough to get close enough for an actual attack. She changed her direction and went right for Yoruichi as she knocked the knife away.

Their eyes met and Yoruichi threw another knife at her. It was blocked with ease and Tatsuki unsheathed her other sword to increase her chances against the skilled woman. Her blade met with a knife when she reached the same pillar Yoruichi was on. Her confidence boosted at the sound of cracking metal telling her that the knife was breaking under the pressure of her zanpakutou.

Yoruichi jumped away when the knife broke and it was quickly discarded but Tatsuki followed after her without wasting time. She wouldn't allow Yoruichi to get away because she knew that there would be no way of slowing her down again and no way of passing this exercise. Tatsuki didn't want to fail this time no matter how great a feat she had achieved by getting up here, using flash step, and even being able to catch Yoruichi for that instant when their blades locked together. That was something she didn't even think was possible for herself yet but she had done it now she wanted to go even further and achieve even more.

Yoruichi went for the perimeter of the pillars and Tatsuki followed with even more determination knowing that the woman would have to make a quick turn and that was where she would be caught and even more this time since Tatsuki had no plan on letting her get away. But when Yoruichi came to the end she didn't turn or stop like Tatsuki had expected instead she jumped off and kept going through the air. Tatsuki didn't slow down though, she felt Honoban's power flow through her and heated her up telling her that she could pursue the woman even in the air. She glanced down at her feet and noticed that her reiatsu was starting to form around her lower legs to give her a boost. There was no doubt in her mind that she could do this. Tatsuki reached the last pillar and jumped.

Yoruichi turned while she came to a stop expecting to see Tatsuki standing on the last pillar watching her with a mixed look of anger and awe. What she saw, however, was Tatsuki still coming after her with her reiatsu covering her lower legs to allow her to achieve even this. Yoruichi pulled out a couple more knives and threw them at Tatsuki, who did almost nothing to block them since her reiatsu did that for her by forming in front of the knives before they could make contact and somehow diverted them around her body.

Tatsuki was closing in on the woman as she jumped back once more making her determination soar. She had the older woman on the run now but soon she was close enough for an attack. The swing of her blades was swift and flawless but they didn't make contact with Yoruichi. She had disappeared again making Tatsuki come to a stop and search around frantically for her reiatsu but found nothing to pinpoint her location anywhere.

Her eyes widened and she slowly looked down and found she wasn't standing on anything making her shock turn into pride at this new feat but it wasn't long before her mind betrayed her joy. She had no idea how she was supposed to get down to the ground safely without falling, which would probably kill her. She carefully turned back to the pillars while doing her best not to lose her balance. If she could get back to the pillars then she should be fine but she was concerned that she might fall when she tried to go back to them. She was too high up and too nervous to want to make the attempt without someone around to help her.

She searched for any sign of Yoruichi's presence but still found nothing. Tatsuki let out a sigh and felt her body slowly begin to sink back to the ground. There was still no pull of gravity to concern her so she allowed this to happen with little worry of injury. This felt almost normal for her even though she had never done anything remotely close to this before in her life or even when in her inner world.

There was only one other feeling she could relate to this and that was when she was underwater. The feel of weightlessness she felt now but there was no density to restrict any of her movements nor was there anything restricting her breathing. When she neared the ground she felt gravity begin to tug at her and soon after Honoban's power dissipated from around her legs causing her to fall for the last couple of feet to the ground. Her previous overjoyed smile returned and she stood in awe at what she had just achieved and the look on Yoruichi's face had been priceless when she found that she was being pursued even in the air but soon after that she had disappeared leaving Tatsuki with only her pride of accomplishment and more questions.

"Are you enjoying yourself?" A voice called making Tatsuki look over to find Urahara walking over to her followed closely by Yoruichi and for the first time she carried a full sized blade. "I hear you've done something no human should be able to do."

"What do you mean?" Tatsuki asked.

"You shouldn't be able to fly like that." Yoruichi said.

"You were though." Tatsuki said. "I thought it was part of the training so I went with it."

"What if you fell?" Yoruichi asked. "It would have killed you. I already told you that's not what I'm trying to do."

"Honoban gave me the power to do it so I did it." Tatsuki argued. "If this helps me get stronger then who cares? That's all I want and it's why I'm here right now."

"Have you forgotten your main reason for this?" Yoruichi asked. "Have you already cast Orihime aside for power? You're a fool."

"I haven't forgotten about her." Tatsuki snapped angrily. "I just know there isn't anything I can do for her right now so I want to get as strong as I can so I can protect her when she comes back."

Urahara pushed his hat lower on his head as he said, "You're greed for power is making you forget about what you really want. Orihime is the last thing on your mind now. All you care about is getting stronger no matter what is forgotten in the process."

"That's not true." Tatsuki argued. "I'm doing this for her sake not my own."

She felt her anger flare at all their accusations but it wasn't just her anger that was flaring. Her reiatsu was beginning to flare as well and she could feel it breaking through the seal that was placed on her and came out in full. She didn't care about it and allowed it to spill out without fearing it in anyway. This was her power and she would have control of it. Her power would not control her and she wouldn't fear it anymore because she knew it wouldn't hurt her.

Tatsuki gripped her swords tightly at the sight of Yoruichi shifting a little while holding a look that was easily recognized as a threat. She watched Yoruichi calmly as she waited for the woman to make a move. "You should calm down, Tatsuki. I don't want to have to hurt you."

She picked up her guard and Yoruichi lunged at her with her own reiatsu flaring to combat the other drawing her katana to attack the girl quickly and send her off her guard before disappearing and attacking from a different direction. There was no time for Tatsuki to react to the second attack and felt the blade cut through her shoulder. Blood sprayed from the wound instantly and Tatsuki stepped back and picked up her guard immediately.

The more attacks that got through the less her chance of survival was and Tatsuki couldn't afford to lose at all. She had become too strong to lose this easily. Yoruichi attacked again and Tatsuki blocked with one sword and thrust the other straight at the woman but it was avoided. Anger fueled her attacks making her picked up the pace of her swings and she easily came closer to making contact with the woman's flesh with each swing she made.

Yoruichi's eye's narrowed at the distinct change in Tatsuki's eyes and found that it sent shivers down her spine even with her focus on the frenzy of angered attacks that were being thrown at her. Tatsuki had lost control again but there was no fear in her eyes that would allow her reiatsu to consume her like it did the last time this had happened. This time her reiatsu was under control but her anger and greed wasn't and that was what was consuming her now.

"What would Orihime say if she saw you like this?" Yoruichi asked, blocking another attack.

At the sound of the name Tatsuki's attacks increased and she managed to break through Yoruichi's defense, cutting her arms and sides with full attacks. There was no holding back against the girl while the change in her eyes increased to a greater amount making the change clear for anyone to see. Her power was consuming her judgement, whether it was hollow or not it was taking control of her actions.

"I don't even think she would even want to look at you anymore." Yoruichi said. "You've been consumed with greed and power."

Those words had to be said for Tatsuki to realize what she was doing but she reacted with frantic violence. All her moved lacked her usual concentration but her balance was the same. There was less hesitation in both their attacks as they lashed out at each other. Yoruichi was able to block most of her attacks but as soon as their swords locked together she would be struck by Tatsuki's other weapon and the wounds were gradually getting deeper. Yoruichi jumped away in hopes of putting distance between them but to no avail since Tatsuki was right after her like she knew every move the woman made. This could be a problem if she didn't put any distance between them then too many attacks would get through.

"Tatsuki, stop this." A soft voice called from the side.

Tatsuki stopped completely mid swing and glanced over. Orihime was standing beside Urahara with a frightened look on her face and her hand was cupped over her mouth as tears streamed down her cheeks. Tatsuki dropped her guard immediately but Yoruichi kept hers up and watched Tatsuki's eyes for any sign of regularity but the stayed the way they were when she had lost control.

"Orihime," Tatsuki said with a hoarse voice making it sound like she had screamed to the point where she had lost it. "I did all this for you. I've become stronger for you, Orihime."

Orihime looked away with a hurt look making the pain that grew in Tatsuki's face almost unbearable to witness. Her short swords fell to the ground while tears rolled down her cheeks freely and her body soon followed her swords to the ground. Even Yoruichi found this hard to watch and made her recall her own past experiences with her lost love. Pain grew in the woman's eyes and she gave Urahara an angered look and shouted, "Enough, Kisuke!"

Yoruichi dropped her sword and crouched beside Tatsuki to offer her support only to be forced off immediately and the girl got up and tried to run at Orihime. Yoruichi stopped her immediately by grabbing her upper arm and threw her away. Tatsuki hit the ground not far away and was quickly pinned to it by Yoruichi and was held firmly despite her continued struggles to free herself even while Urahara walked away with the imposter that had been created when the greed for power started to show itself in Tatsuki's training.

That wasn't really Orihime, she still hadn't returned from Hueco Mundo though it was likely she had been rescued or that would happen soon but it would still be awhile before she returns to the material world. This was just a decoy to stop Tatsuki's anger but the more Yoruichi looked into the girl's eyes she knew the anger had found a new depth and she was still being consumed by her power and it would continue to eat away at her judgement until it faded away.

Yoruichi held her to the ground with a tighter grip the more Tatsuki struggled to get free and was only getting more violent with each minute. She shifted one leg so it pinned her arm as well before pulling a knife from her leg warmer and pressed it against Tatsuki's neck and said, "Calm down, Tatsuki. Everything's going to be okay."

Tatsuki continued to struggle regardless and easily lost more of herself to her anger. "Get off of me!"

"Not until you calm down." Yoruichi said.

"I am calm." Tatsuki argued.

"You're not even yourself right now." Yoruichi said. "Just take a deep breath and calm down then I'll let you up."

Tatsuki slowed her struggles but her eyes didn't change back to their normal calm. Soon all her struggles had stopped but there wasn't a single difference with anything else in her. Yoruichi only tightened her grip on the girl and pressed the knife closer to her neck drawing a little blood. Tatsuki winced in pain before blinking and snapping out of her anger, "Yoruichi?"

Yoruichi pulled the knife from Tatsuki's neck but kept her to the ground didn't lighten her grip at all. She tossed the knife aside and asked, "Are you alright?"

Tatsuki offered a slight nod and realized that Yoruichi was bleeding in quite a few places. "Are you alright, Yoruichi?"

"I've had worse." Yoruichi said. "My wounds don't concern me."

Tatsuki looked away as she realized there were tears in her eyes though that wasn't the only thing she noticed about herself in that position but it was what she decided to focus on. She couldn't think about the other thing without hating herself for it. Her arousal for the older woman had returned even if it was brought on by being pinned to the ground in this awkward position. She began to wonder if her guilt was responsible for her tears or if it was something else. What was on her mind more was what had just happened but it was just a blank in her memory. She didn't know how she had gotten on the ground or why Yoruichi was injured or even why her shoulder hurt.

A slight smile formed on Yoruichi's face, "Next time we fight I don't think I should hold back so much."

"I was the one that wounded you?" Tatsuki asked with wide eyes. "I don't remember even touching you."

"It's fine, you weren't yourself, you lost control of your power again but this time you weren't hurt by it." Yoruichi said. "I'm sorry I pushed you over the edge but I needed to know something."

"Did you figure it out?" Tatsuki asked chancing Yoruichi's eyes only to regret the guilt she found.

"What I found out was not what I needed to know." Yoruichi said with a hint of regret. "Your training is done for today."

With that Yoruichi got off of her and picked up a katana before offering her hand for the girl. Tatsuki hesitated before accepting the help and was brought up with ease despite the woman's wounds. She glanced back at the pillars and saw how far away they were now, "The last thing I remember is flying. I'll never forget that feeling."

"It's like being a leaf on the wind." Yoruichi said. "To be completely weightless and free, it's a wonderful feeling."

"Yeah," Tatsuki agreed distantly. "But I felt warm and at the same time really confident. It was as if nothing could touch me, like I was invincible."

"Don't be so cocky, it will be the last mistake you make." Yoruichi said. "Control, it's key to any battle, whether it's mental or physical. Your control is good until Orihime is brought up."

Tatsuki tensed immediately proving Yoruichi right. A slight smile formed on the older woman's lips the moment Tatsuki tried to defend herself, "Orihime's just a close friend and with her in trouble like this it's just hard to know that there's nothing I can do for her, that's all."

"You're a terrible liar." Yoruichi said boldly. "You clearly have feelings for her and its written all over your face."

Tatsuki brought her attention back to Yoruichi and found that she wasn't even looking at her. The woman's gaze was off to the side and seemed to be pretty upset with something now. Tatsuki watched her with worry and chanced approaching to hesitantly place a hand on the taller woman's shoulder in hopes of comforting her. Yoruichi glanced over a little at the affection but didn't offer eye contact, "I think now I really know what I did to her back then. I know now why she still can't forgive me fully."

Their eyes met for a moment and Tatsuki attempted to smile for Yoruichi, "If she really cares about you then she'll forgive you no matter what. I know that I'll still forgive Orihime no matter what happens between us."

Yoruichi smiled a little, "I need to go."

Their smiles widened a little before Yoruichi left her there making her smile fade a little at the slightest of hazes when the woman left before it was gone. She rubbed her eyes figuring she was just tired. Her gaze went back to the pillars and her imagination soared and her smile returned, "A leaf on the wind, weightless and free."


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer::I own nothing but half the idea. lol**

**Chapter 08: Struggle for control**

Tatsuki sat on the floor against her bed in the dark of her room with her zanpakutou resting on her lap. She let out a sigh and she looked down at it, this was the first time she actually brought it home to secretly do her own training but her mind was focused on other things now, her flight, her black out, Yoruichi's actions before her leave, and then there was Orihime.

She let out another, much longer sigh. It had awhile since she really last thought about her. She had been so focused on her training that she had forgotten why she was really doing it. A tear rolled down her cheekwhile she closed her eyes and thought about Orihime. Just how long had it been since the two of them had hung out and had a normal time without uncertainties and doubt? There had always been awkwardness however, Tatsuki's feelings for the girl were too strong for her to be at ease around her.

Her mind began to calm and soon she felt her consciousness fall away to nothing but it wasn't sleep that was taking her, it was Honoban. She was being brought back to her inner world and this knowledge didn't bother her even in the slightest. This was why she had brought her zanpakutou with her. She needed to confront whatever took control of her during her black outs. This struggle had to end before she lost herself again or worse, completely.

A cool breeze blew through her hair making her open her eyes to find herself sitting in the tall grass with Honoban present before her sitting on the same rock he was always on. He watched her carefully without word while he awaited Tatsuki to speak of her desired control. "Honoban, what is my power exactly?"

"_I had thought you came in search of something other than to question me."_ Honoban replied amusedly.

"I am here for something else." Tatsuki admitted. "But first I need to know what I'm going to be up against."

"_Very well, months before you were attacked by a hollow that had taken your body and controlled it though you have no memory of this taking place. When the hollow was slain a piece of its existence remained inside you because you held enough reiatsu for it to leach off of and survive though it was weak."_ Honoban explained. "_While it originated from a hollow it was manipulative in nature so in order for it to survive it manipulated itself to your personality to grow stronger and took form of the source of reiatsu closest to you. It took the form of Kurosaki, Ichigo's soul reaper power while it continued to take your personality and persistence but it has maintained the greed of the hollow that had controlled you."_

"How could it take the form of Ichigo's power?" Tatsuki asked shocked. "I never hang out with him so why didn't it take another form?"

"_While you may not be with him he was always close to you, more so than anyone with reiatsu and the density of his power fed the hollows greed. It wanted that power to manipulate it and like a fire it engulfed it and twisted his power to create me."_ Honoban said. _"The truth of your power is that it is both hollow and soul reaper. The hollow inside you is persistent in controlling you yet your own persistence combats with it regularly though its greed overpowers your reasoning when it comes to power."_

"My greed," Tatsuki muttered absent mindedly recalling the conversation she had with Urahara and Yoruichi before her last black out. They were right but her anger made her believe that they were wrong. She had really believed that it was still all about Orihime but she had just become a scapegoat in the greed for power. She clenched her fists in anger and she met Honoban's eyes, "I want whatever hollow inside me gone."

"_Are you so confident that you say those words so freely?"_ Honoban asked. _"You've proven yourself incapable of controlling it yet you wish to face it so openly."_

"I don't plan on controlling it, I want to kill it." Tatsuki said confidently.

"_You were given the chance to face it already and you had failed allowing it to grow even stronger."_ Honoban said calmly. _"It has taken your fears that you so ignorantly deny. Your ignorance makes it stronger. This is why I will not allow you to hold my true power while you carry such ignorance."_

"I understand." Tatsuki said confidently. "I'll face all my fears right now. I'm not afraid of them anymore."

"_Very well, but know this, there is little I can do to assist you in this."_ Honoban said. _"Be cautious this will be dangerous and you may lose yourself and your life."_

Everything slowly became dark and fire grew in the field letting smoke rise and block out the sun just like it had before and Honoban disappeared leaving her alone in the chaos. She understood the fire now and didn't fear it so she stood up and slid her zanpakutou under her sash. Tatsuki took a quick glance around before moving to another part of the field. A loud howl echoed through the field and she knew immediately what was going to happen next. She would find Orihime being attacked but this time she was ready for it.

Tatsuki ran in the direction of the scream and did in fact find Orihime being attacked by a hollow. A twinge of fear spiked inside her but she soon banished it with the confidence she held inside her. With all the training she had and all the feats she had accomplished that day this should be nothing for her to deal with and she had more control over her reiatsu since she wasn't denying Honoban anymore. She was so much stronger now that she was confident that she wouldn't have any problems with this.

When Tatsuki neared the hollow she unsheathed her zanpakutou and used flash step to slay the hollow instantly before sliding to a stop a few feet away and glanced back in time to see the hollow disappear. Her gaze went to the illusion that portrayed itself as Orihime. She gave it an unconcerned look and waited for the other hollows to appear while the illusion approached her, "Tatsuki, what's going on?"

Tatsuki didn't answer its question, there was no way she could talk to something that was impersonating someone she held so dear to her. The illusion placed its hand on Tatsuki's shoulder but she tried shrugged it off in annoyance and angrily said, "Don't talk to me, I know you're not really Orihime."

The grip tightened on her shoulder and Tatsuki began to feel like she was in danger. She readied her swords and threw the illusions hand off her shoulder and pressed a blade against its neck while giving it a short livid glare before her eyes widened with shock when she found that the illusion had taken the form of Orihime when they had first met. Her heart raced and told her to drop her swords and take this girl in her arms.

Orihime was now a few years younger and her hair had been cut unevenly by the kids that were bullying her. The grey eyes held so much sorrow and glistened with tears that rolled freely down her cheeks. Her hands were on her chest like she was a frightened child, "You're scaring me, Tatsuki."

A tear fought to fall from Tatsuki's eye and she unwillingly muttered, "Hime…"

Orihime smiled kindly at her, "I'm here, Tatsuki."

"Don't…" Tatsuki started as Orihime reached out at her making her move out of reach of the illusion. Was that really all it was, just an illusion? It was so real it couldn't be an illusion. Orihime approached her with such a gentle smile that made everything else seem to fade away. Tatsuki closed her eyes and the tear she had fought fell down her cheek, "Forgive me."

She thrust her zanpakutou into the flesh of the body that approached her. A loud shriek rang through the air making Tatsuki open her eyes and back away from the mutated creature standing before her. This _thing_ was not Orihime. In fact it was so far from her it made it clear that this thing had taken her beloved friend's image to get closer to her without her even realizing it. Just realising that fact told her that she had been manipulated by this thing the minute she began feeling her reiatsu growing inside her because with that feeling she had the urge to get stronger for Orihime's sake.

Its grotesque figure twitched and cracked with each step it made when it tried to get closer to her making the chains around it rattle with every movement. Its black eyes watched her angrily while it continued its approach. The ragged dirty white robes it wore were in shreds and barely covered its body clearly showing its female gender. Blood dripped from its wound slowly before steam rose from it and the wound disappeared, slowly healing while it walked.

Tatsuki's eyes widened in surprise and she continued to back away finding fear of this thing the closer it got to her. All she wanted to do is turn and run away as fast as she could but a part of her couldn't do that. It was as if she knew that to turn away now would just result in her death. The creature reached out with a long arm and it chuckled harshly at the fear in Tatsuki's eyes. **"Your fear is delicious. I look forward to devouring you whole."**

Tatsuki's eyes widened even more at the voice that spoke both in her mind and from the thing that reached out for her. Her grip tightened around her zanpakutou and she steeled her courage. That part of her that told her not to run away also told her that she knew exactly what to do and how to do it. Her eyes grew cold while she spoke the words a part of her told her to say, "Sho-bo."

Her zanpakutou was engulfed with a burning hot fire that didn't harm her so she picked up her guard without letting herself be concerned with it but the creature wasn't fazed by this and continued closer to her while Tatsuki remained still. When the outstretched arm came closer to her face Tatsuki swung at it and cut it off easily. The creature shrieked in pain and Tatsuki watched its flesh burned as simmered from the flames and she found a small sick joy from the sight. It lashed out with its remaining arm but Tatsuki jumped out of the way to avoid it. She picked up her guard the moment she landed, "You imitated someone I care about. I _will_ kill you for that."

The creature laughed darkly at her words and picked up its arm without care for Tatsuki's defense and pressed it to the remainder of its arm. Its laughter stopped when the arm fell away when it was released. Tatsuki raised her sword so that it pointed to the creature while allowing the other to linger by her side in a taunt knowing what it was trying to do, "You're flesh has been seared by my fire. It won't heal."

It shrieked with rage and quickened it's movements towards her. Tatsuki narrowed her eyes at the creature and advanced on it without fear. Its wounds weren't healing so she knew that she could kill it and she had resolved to do that. She swung her blade at the closest part of the creature but when her blade should have cut flesh it only cut the creature vanished before the swing could connect making Tatsuki jumped back and hold her guard while she carefully paid attention to any sound and movement around her but all she heard was the grass crackling in the heat of the flames around her and there was nothing that suggested the creature had reappeared.

She heard the slight rattle of chains and jumped to the side while turning in the direction of the sound to witness the chain hit the ground where she just stood and it made quite an impact creating a cloud of dirt and ash which mixed into the smoke. Tatsuki watched the chain carefully to see it retract into a dark void where it disappeared followed shortly by the void closing. Tatsuki grit her teeth in anger, "Stop hiding you coward!"

She heard the chainsagain but before she could react they fastened themselves around her ankles and tightened painfully while they snaked their way up and around her body, trapping her where she stood. The moment the chains touched her zanpakutou the fire extinguished around them, but it wasn't just the flames it was devouring. She cried out in pain feeling the life being squeezed out of her bit by bit from the chains. Her fear rose when she felt a ragged breath on the back of her neck causing a cold chill to crawl down her spine from the creature that spoke rigidly in her ear, **"You think you're clever don't you, human? But your cleverness has worn out and now you will know your fear."**

Its remaining hand came up around her and its long deformed nails trailed down the side of Tatsuki's face cutting her skin with ease while she struggled helplessly to escape. Her heart pounded in her chest and the nails left her face before its fingers wrapped around the front of her neck and dug into the side. A cold chuckle was breathed into her ears while the nails slowly inched their way to her jugular. Tatsuki tried desperately to free her arms but the ice cold breath on her neck was making it near impossible to move and she felt her fear intensify.

The nails stopped when an image of Orihime appeared before them. She smiled kindly while approaching Tatsuki and placed a hand on her unharmed cheek, "Everything will be okay, Tatsuki."

A tear rolled down Tatsuki's face at the words that she knew she could believe. Orihime leaned closer to her until she was only a hairsbreadth away and her image faltered for an instant to show her on fire. The slight fault in the image made Tatsuki realize the creature wasn't the one doing this. If it was the creature's doing then there would have been no fault in the image and it would have already slit her throat instead of stopping.

Honoban had sent that image to calm her and hint an answer. A slight smile formed on Tatsuki's face and Orihime backed away without anything more than the fault of image. Orihime smiled at Tatsuki one last time before disappearing. The single tear dropped from her chin and she felt her anger rise in its absence that burned her like a raging fire. The fire engulfed her body like it had the last time she tried to face her fears and burned Orihime. The reason that had happened was because not only was there no control but she had been too close making Orihime catch fire also. The confident part of her conscience told Tatsuki what to say and she obeyed, "Hono-genkai."

The fire around her expanded and shot out burning the creature behind her, melting away the chain in the process. The creature backed away letting Tatsuki turn to face it with a growing hate for it but rather than seize the opportunity to attack it she watched it with a deep loathing. Blood dripped down her face and neck from the wounds but she had no care for it or the pain it caused her. She raised her zanpakutou to the creature and let her hatred fill her voice, "Now it's your turn to be afraid."

The creature laughed at her while the last of its chains melted away, **"Foolish human, you just destroyed the only chance you had. Those chains were all that remained of my seal."**

Tatsuki's eyes narrowed while she watched the creature surrounded itself with reiatsu blocking it from sight. Her grip tightened on her weapons and prepared for a sneak attack when the reiatsu began to fade away to reveal the creature in a new form. She felt her resolve weaver at the sight of this new form, it was no longer mutated, although it was very pale. It had become human, at least in form, and looked a little like her but also like someone else. It stood there in a mockery of her and it held a single short sword that resembled her zanpakutou. It took in a deep breath and exhaled with a dark smirk, **"I have been reborn."**

"Don't get used to the feeling, you'll be dead soon." Tatsuki said as she picked up her guard. "Sho-bo"

The fire engulfed her zanpakutou and she used flash step to attack the creature and barely gave it a chance to block her attack. Their blades locked and they glared at each other with eyes that were fueled with anger for the other they fought. It was a battle for dominance against the other and Tatsuki wasn't about to let up, letting the fire on her zanpakutou flicker out like it was trying to attack the other and grasp the upper hand. Their blades left each other and they jumped away. Their eyes never left the others while they leapt at each other again. "I'm not afraid of you anymore. You have no power over me."

The creature glared at her in anger and was soon forced back. Tatsuki followed it without giving it a chance while the flames on her zanpakutou grew and moved up her arms making the creature smirk. Tatsuki ignored both it and the flames to focus solely on destroying this thing and getting full control over herself. Their blades locked and Tatsuki thrust her other short sword at the creature impaling it in the side. The flames grew immediately and spread across its body. Tatsuki used its pain as a distraction and knocked its sword away to impale it in the center of its chest. The creature narrowed its eyes and brought its weapon down on Tatsuki, who twisted her blade inside the creature and ripped it out to block the attack.

Its blade was stopped inches from her face and Tatsuki twisted her other blade inside the creature before ripping it out the side of its body. There was no spray of blood from the creature jumped back away from Tatsuki, who just straightened up and approached it calmly. Now it was the creature that backed away and gripped its wounds like it was trying to heal them but had been seared shut by the flame of her zanpakutou making it impossible and a wasted effort. She held no more fear of this thing and she never would again because she knew that she was stronger that it. There was nothing to fear from this thing and she knew that well now.

The creature tried to attack Tatsuki but it was easily blocked and thrown off balance with the sound of cracking metal. Its eyes widened when two blades came down on it before it had a chance to move or avoid it. Both swords made contact with it and the creature remained unmoving until Tatsuki removed her blades from it and kicked it away with a look of pure disgust. She let out a sigh of relief when the field slowly began to restore itself to its usual calming appearance and the creature faded away.

"_An impressive feat."_ Honoban said.

"I had some help." Tatsuki said. "Thanks for that, Honoban."

Honoban nodded,_ "I cannot allow you to die so easily."_

"You were telling me what to say during the fight, right?" Tatsuki asked.

"_That is correct,"_ Honoban replied. _"I assume I have no need to inform you on the illusion."_

"No," Tatsuki said distantly. "You really opened my eyes with that, thanks."

"_If you are in need of my power then you must simply ask and I shall assist you."_ Honoban turned to leave._ "You have done what you needed. Next time my power is needed you know what words to speak, they will not be whispered to you. Return to your world and rest."_

Tatsuki nodded and soon found herself back in her room. She let out a sigh and slid her zanpakutou underneath her bed before getting up to leave her room. An exhausted yawn escaped her while she walked down the hallway to go to the bathroom. She closed the door and looked into the mirror to see there was blood on her face, neck and shirt. Her hand fumbled with the handle until there was a definite click of the lock. She slowly walked over to the sink while placing her hand on her cheek and winced in pain when her fingers grazed the cuts on her face. She turned on the water with her free hand while the other didn't leave her cheek despite the searing pain it caused her from the open wounds.

When the water was warm enough she splashed it in her face and did her best to clean the drying blood from her face but that was soon replaced by fresh blood that dripped down her face from the four long cuts down her face and from the smaller yet much deeper cuts on her neck. She continued to wash away the blood until no more would drip from the wound and then even more out of shock and thoughts of the creature.

It took a few minutes before she stopped the bleeding but it was even longer before her shock faded and she looked away from the mirror and left the bathroom to go back to her room where she stopped at the realization that there was absolutely no way to explain these wounds to anyone that would see them other than the people at Urahara's shop. If there were somewhere else on her body then she could easily hide it with clothing or maybe even explain it but not when they were claw makes on her face.

Tatsuki slowly walked to her bed and laid down soon losing herself in thoughts and questions. How was she even supposed to hide this from her parents? Everyone at school was one thing but her parents wouldn't believe anything she could possibly say about it, not that she could say anything about it. They were already asking enough questions about why she was barely ever home now and when she was home it was to sleep and nothing more than that since everything else was done either at school or at Urahara's.

A knock on her door snapped her attention out of her thoughts and made her quickly roll over to face the wall so she could pretend to be asleep. The door opened slowly then closed after a moment. Tatsuki shifted in hopes in hopes that the mark on her neck was hidden. The marks on her face were covered by the pillow at least and she was grateful for that. Her eyes were shut tight while she waited for any type of movement to let her know if it was safe to move without having to worry about her wounds or even the blood on her clothing being noticed.

She heard the chair by her desk being pulled out from her desk and soon after someone sat down with a sigh. From the femininity of the sigh it was clear to her that it was her mom that sat down. Tatsuki hoped above all else that she wouldn't glance under her bed and find her zanpakutou. She had done all that she could to hide them on her way home from Urahara's shop but she hadn't bothered much to hide it inside her own room because she didn't think her parents would come in here and she also didn't expect wounds received in her inner world would transfer to the 'material world', as Honoban called it.

The longer she laid there the more the side of her face throbbed since it hadn't had time to begin healing yet and with this it might become infected but the cuts on her face weren't as deep as the ones on her neck so she wasn't too worried about it. A bit of disinfectant would be all she would need for her face. Considering how disgusting that creature was that should have been the first thing she did after she stopped the bleeding in case the wounds were infected when they were inflicted but her shock had made her oblivious to thoughts of infection.

After a while Tatsuki began to feel tired and hoped that her mom would leave soon so that she wouldn't have to worry about falling asleep and rolling over while her mom was still in the room resulting in both her parents finding out about everything and that was the last thing she needed right now. She would have to stay in her room until she could sneak out either in the morning or later on in the night so that she wouldn't have to worry about being caught.

She heard her mom get up from the chair and push it in and walk towards the door before she stopped abruptly making Tatsuki's heart race at the sound of her mom approached the bed. That was it, she was caught, either her mom had seen her zanpakutou or she was coming to see if she was really asleep or not since she hadn't moved an inch after shifting to try and cover the wound on her neck a little more. It was pretty clear that something was up and her mom had caught on.

Her heart almost stopped when her mom stopped at the end of the bed and remained there for a while before quickly going back to the door and closed it a little loudly. Tatsuki remained still out of fear that it was a rouse meant to either wake her up or give away her own rouse but she wasn't about to chance anything right now. If she did and she was caught then she would have a lot of explaining to do and she had no clue where to even start.

Something landed on her bed in front of her making her eyes snap open to find one part of her zanpakutou on the bed and soon after she began to feel an ominous presence behind her. She slowly glanced over and found her mom standing by the bed with crossed arms and an angry look as she looked down at her, "Do you want to explain this?"

"No," Tatsuki said immediately and she grasped the one sword in front of her while the other was still in her mom's possession. "Can I have that back?"

"No," Her mom responded with the obvious response. "What happened to your face?"

"I have no way of explaining that." Tatsuki answered truthfully. "Why are you in my room?"

"You didn't clean the blood trail you left from the bathroom." Her mother replied. "So what happened?"

Tatsuki let out a sigh knowing there was no way out of this without running away. She would have to do her best to come up with a good lie since there was no way she was going to tell her mother what was really going on. "I started practicing kendo."

"This is a real sword not a shinai." Her mom countered instantly and reached for the hilt to unsheathe it but as soon as her hand was on it smoke started to rise from it making her drop it immediately. She held her hand in front of her chest in fear while it smoked with singing flesh from the heat of the sword. "What is that thing?"

Tatsuki quickly grabbed the still smoking sword from where it landed on her bed. When she touched it the smoke stopped and it cooled immediately making her recall what Urahara had once told her about the bond between a zanpakutou and soul reaper. "No one else can wield it but me."

Though if that were true then would that be more evidence that this were actually a real zanpakutou and not just a replica of one like it had also been suspected but actual proof of it being real would be to achieve a shikai or something. But could a replica be able to portray an inner world as well and all of the other things Honoban had already done and granted her? "Tatsuki, where did you get those things?"

"They were a gift from a close friend." She said almost fondly. "I've been training with them ever since."

"So you're telling me this 'close friend' of yours cut your face and neck like that?" She asked angrily.

"No, that was something else entirely." Tatsuki said distantly as she recalled the creature. A shiver traveled throughout her body just at the thought of it. No wonder her fear had been so controlling over her just thinking about it was frightening.

Though Honoban had told her that it was manipulative in origin so it must have taken all her fears and morphed them together which would explain why it had been so mutated but then it had taken on another form and claimed the seal on it had been broken by her power. So did that mean that there was no more seal on her as well and where did the seal on the hollow even come from? No one else was even aware of its presence so how was a seal placed on it and why just a seal and not get rid of it completely though she was glad that it wasn't destroyed since it allowed her to grasp the power she held now.

"Honoban…" Tatsuki started slowly before recalling that her mom was still standing there.

"Who or what is this 'Honoban'?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

'I'm not going to get any help on this one am I?' Tatsuki thought doubtfully as she placed her zanpakutou behind her. "Well, that's what I call my swords."

"You named it?" She asked with a slight worried tone.

"_I gave the name to myself."_ Honoban replied walking over Tatsuki's leg as he glanced over at her. _"Your suspicion is correct, I am a true zanpakutou though you have no soul reaper abilities." _

"Can I get them?" Tatsuki asked but Honoban just looked back at her mom, who was in complete shock from this turn of events.

Honoban jumped straight up from the bed and stopped mid-air in front of her mother's face. She seemed to go in a trance and walked out of the room without word while Honoban just floated back down to the edge of the bed. _"I was created by the hollow that hoped to use me so I had acquired some of its ability to manipulate others. I am able to alter some things but my skill with manipulation is limited though it is enough to assure that she will not remember speaking with you of these matters."_

"If you were created for that _thing's_ use then why do I have you in my possession?" Tatsuki asked curiously.

"_Regardless of whether or not you had created me I reside within you making you my master not that hollow."_ Honoban replied._ "I was created as a replica of a real zanpakutou but your determination forged me into a true zanpakutou. My power is yours to wield since you allowed me to form it into what I am now. This is why I remained silent until you were ready to wield me."_

"So then there's no way it could have controlled my power unless it controlled me." Tatsuki said. "It's pretty much powerless unless it manipulates something or someone."

"_That is correct."_ Honoban replied. _"It would be wise if you got rid of the blood in the hallway."_

"Yeah," Tatsuki said as she left the bed and walked to the door before glancing back and finding only her swords present and no sign of the fox anywhere in her room. She watched her zanpakutou for a moment before leaving her room while muttering a single word, "Strange."


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer::I own nothing but half the idea. lol**

**Chapter 09: The unexpected battle**

Tatsuki had gotten up early and snuck out of her house to go to Urahara's shop with her zanpakutou well hidden once more. She had left wearing her school uniform and had her school supplies despite the fact that she had no intention of going that day. The uniform and her book bag was just a cover for when she went home that night. She couldn't go to school with the very visible wounds she had and she hadn't a clue how to explain them to anybody but the people that were aware of her training, which sadly included Keigo as well.

She approached the shop and saw two little kids sweeping in front of the shop. They looked like they could only be seven or eight years old. The little girl looked over at Tatsuki when she get closer and stopped in front of them. The little girl bowed respectfully and said, "Good morning."

Tatsuki bowed a little as well and replied kindly, "Good morning."

Tatsuki rose from her bow to see the girl get wacked on the head with a broom by the boy, who shouted, "Ururu, we're not supposed to be talking, we're suppose-"

He was cut off by Tatsuki when she grabbed him by the neck of the shirt and glared at him, "She was being polite, kid. Maybe you could learn something from her."

"Ha, whatever like I care." He said without care.

"Um, it's okay miss. Jinta's always like this." Ururu replied with a soft voice.

Tatsuki's attention went straight back to Jinta, "If you keep hitting girls then this girl is going to hit you, do you understand?"

Jinta just rolled his eyes uncaringly like it was an empty threat. "I'd appreciate it if you didn't harass my employees."

She looked over to find Urahara walking over to her with a yawn. He stopped when he saw the wounds on Tatsuki's face, "What happened to you?"

"I destroyed my fear." Tatsuki said and released Jinta, who pulled an eyelid down and stuck out his tongue at her. "Beat it, kid!"

"When you say 'fear'…" Urahara started.

"There was a hollow in me." Tatsuki said bluntly. "I took care of it last night, its dead."

"I see," Urahara said. "We'll discuss this further inside."

He led her inside in silence while the two kids started arguing again making Tatsuki glance back in time to see the girl getting hit on the head again. She turned around and doubled back while Jinta had his back to her and laughed at Ururu. He was oblivious to the fist that came down on him but after it did he was crouched down holding his head and he looked back at Tatsuki. She started down at him angrily and shouted, "Knock it off!"

She went back to the shop and found Urahara waiting by the door with a slight smile on his face. When she caught up to him he entered the shop and led her to the dining room where she would recount everything that happened though she decided it would be best to leave out the manipulative part of her zanpakutou so it would be her little ace if it were ever necessary for her to have. It had already saved her last night but to Urahara that confrontation never happened.

He took it all in easily enough even though she had also left out how close the image of Orihime had really come to her but everything else was to par, even the grotesque look that the creature held and what had happened after the seal was broken on it and how Honoban told her exactly what to say. She had twisted the last conversation she had in her inner world to include the one she had with Honoban to include the one she had with her mom as well to prevent speaking of his manipulative abilities.

When she finished he was just watching her quietly in thought and Tessai entered the room with some tea and a few other things. He set the tea down for both of them then examined Tatsuki's wounds carefully after he sat down beside her, "They're infected."

"Yeah, I couldn't exactly explain what happened to my parents so I couldn't leave my room to disinfect it properly." Tatsuki said half honestly, but in truth, she hadn't wanted her mom to find out for a second time. "Would it be alright if I stayed here and trained all day?"

"That would raise too many questions." Urahara said.

"No going to school with my face like this would raise too many questions." Tatsuki corrected despite Tessai beginning to clean her wounds. "I can hide here and at the same time get stronger."

"If you wanted to hide then you should have stayed home and played sick." Urahara said.

"If I did that then I wouldn't get anything done. I want to be able to protect Orihime not fail her when the time comes." Tatsuki said. "I don't want to let anyone else down because I'm too weak either. I know I have to participate in the war so I want to at least have a chance at being useful to everyone."

"I appreciate your willingness to participate but there is no way I could ask you to get involved. You still have nothing to do with it." Urahara said. "That is not my call regardless since I'm not the one training you. If Yoruichi thinks you can handle it then she will speak to you about it but good luck finding her to even have that conversation. She took off last night."

"Then who's supposed to train me now?" Tatsuki asked as Tessai left the room.

"You're supposed to be living your life like you normally would." Urahara said.

"I might not have a life to live normally if Aizen wins this war. I know I'm not strong enough to fight him but even if I just distract him enough to give others a chance then that's fine." Tatsuki said angrily with a bit of reiatsu sparking in her eyes. "I don't care what my role is I just want to be helpful to everyone."

Urahara let out a long sigh while he watched her on the other side of the small table. "Look even if you had years of training there is still no way that we could ask you to be involved. You still wouldn't be strong enough to face Aizen or any espada. If you were lucky you would survive a fight against a low ranking arrancar."

"I know that," Tatsuki said. "But I still want to do what I can to help."

"You should discuss that with Yoruichi and not with me." Urahara said. "If she doesn't come back by tonight then I'll spar with you but I won't be holding back as much as she does."

"That's fine, I've become stronger since I was last here." Tatsuki said. "I'm confident in the abilities that I have."

A slight smirk formed on Urahara's face, "That's good."

Tatsuki smiled at his approval, she was happy that he acknowledged her confidence but how much did he acknowledge her strength and power? After what happened just the other day he must have no thought on her control or her reasons for doing this but that had hanged after she returned home and reflected on every single reason why she had agreed to the training in the first place, the girl she loved. When she looked into Orihime's image she saw what she had forgotten, she had found how deep her feelings for the other girl were and how much she missed her. She even found a glimpse of courage to take the girl in her arms and say everything that she never dared to say before.

"You should go to school and go about your regular routine for the time being." Urahara said. "I can't have you here all day anyways."

"Then what the hell am I supposed to do about this?" Tatsuki asked as she pointed to the cuts on her face.

"It's been taken care of." Urahara yawned. "I need to go back to bed."

He got up and left her sitting there in a state of confusion and she let her hand slowly grazed the cuts on her face but found no trace of damaged flesh at all and all that remained was smooth skin. Her wounds were completely gone now and there was not even a trace of scarring present like the wounds were never even there in the first place. Her eyes widened the more she traced the missing wounds with her fingers before checking the wounds on her neck and found that those also were gone with no trace of scaring. She couldn't help but wonder if she had just imagined their existence for a moment but waved the thought off since they had been acknowledged by others also.

Tatsuki rose and left the room to go to the bathroom to see if she had gone insane or not but when she got there and looked into the mirror she found that there wasn't even the faintest of marks on her face or neck to even suggest that she had been injured at any point. She mindlessly allowed her fingers to trace where the wounds had been present only moments ago to make sure that this wasn't a hallucination but there was nothing there.

After a few minutes of mindlessly pawing at her face a loud bang snapped her attention away from the mirror making her look at the door where Urahara stood with an amused smile, "Checking yourself out?"

"No," Tatsuki snapped immediately. "What happened to my injuries?"

"Did you think we'd let you walk around with unexplained wounds when you're supposed to stay hidden?" Urahara asked with a sly smile.

Tatsuki watched him blankly and no sensible words came to her. All she could do was smile while in turn he motioned her out of the bathroom and said, "Get out."

She left the bathroom half expecting him to follow her out but just heard the door close behind her. Tatsuki let out a sigh and continued to the front of the shop. When she got to the shop area Yoruichi walked in with a bit of an upset look on her face. Tatsuki stopped and watched the woman walk by her without any form of acknowledgement or even a glance making Tatsuki follow her with a growing concern for her since she had grown fond of the woman in a mentor student kind of way and found a deep level of respect for her.

Yoruichi walked straight to a room down the hall and closed the door behind her making Tatsuki follow her with a growing concern and knocked on the door. She was answered with silence and decided that the expression on Yoruichi's face was too much for her to ignore. The door was slowly slid open to avoid making any noise and Tatsuki peered in to find Yoruichi lying on the bed with her back to the door and she faced the wall silently.

Tatsuki quietly let herself in and closed the door behind her before going to the bed and realized that she had been in this room before. It was only a couple of days ago that she woke up on this bed after her first day of training. A bit of guilt filled her as she realized that she took Yoruichi's bed on night. She sat on the bed making Yoruichi glance over at her for a moment before looking away. Tatsuki gave her a concerned look already guessing what had happened, "How did it go?"

"She wouldn't even hear me out." Yoruichi said sadly. "But I heard other news while I was there."

Tatsuki placed a hand on the woman's shoulder gently and asked, "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Our time is almost up." Yoruichi said. "There are only a few more days of training left if we're lucky enough to get that much."

"Then we're wasting time." Tatsuki said with determination.

A small chuckle came from Yoruichi before she became serious once more, "You can still back out."

"I made my decision to do this last week. I may have lost sight of what I originally wanted in the past few days but I know now that I want to protect Orihime." Tatsuki said with determination despite the worry that persisted in her mind. "I want to do this more now than when you first gave me the opportunity to obtain this strength. This is what I've decided to do and nothing will change my mind."

A smile formed on Yoruichi's face as she sat up on the bed, "If you really are set on this then your training will be much more difficult and for extended periods of time."

"That's fine with me." Tatsuki said bluntly. "Whenever you want to start until whenever you want to stop. I won't give up and I won't stop until you're convinced that I'm ready."

Yoruichi got off the bed and Tatsuki stood up but didn't follow the woman to the door making her stop and looked back with a sight smirk, "Are you having second thoughts already?"

"No," Tatsuki said with determination and held her arms straight out. "I want the weights back. I'll take as much as you think I can handle."

The smirk on Yoruichi's face grew and she walked back to Tatsuki and placed a hand on her chest. The palm of her hand began to glow a light blue and with it the weights grew and the strain on Tatsuki's face began to show while she tried desperately to keep her arms up until the weight was adjusted. The weight continued to rise until Tatsuki could no longer hold her arms up and they fell to her side. The weight stopped its rise and slowly dropped to become lighter, but not by too much, "There's no need to strain yourself so much right now. You still need to fight me with this."

"We're sparring?" Tatsuki asked with a little concern for having the weights on.

Yoruichi's smirk grew more sly making Tatsuki dread their match while she straightened her posture as much as she could with the weights and started for the door where she was stopped, "Your robes are in here."

She motioned to the closet and walked over while Tatsuki followed slowly and she tried to adjust to the weights. The woman opened the closet and retrieved the robes for Tatsuki and handed them to her without word. Tatsuki took them with a smile before Yoruichi walked past her and went for the door where she stopped and said, "I assume you've noticed the patch on these robes."

"Yeah, I was a little curious about that to be honest." Tatsuki admitted while she pulled off her shirt without much care for the woman's presence.

"It's the symbol for the Goatei Thirteen's second squad, the special ops unit." Yoruichi said. "Back when I was still a soul reaper I was the Captain but now my former subordinate is the Captain."

"What's that like." Tatsuki asked.

"It would be different if I had given her an explanation before I left Soul Society." Yoruichi said distantly.

Tatsuki snapped her attention back to the older woman in time to catch a single tear roll down her cheek. Her eyes widened with the realization just how touchy this subject really was making her sloppily tie her sash before making her way over to the woman's side in hopes of offering comfort at the fasted pace she could manage but by the time she got there the tear had already fallen away and Yoruichi had steeled her eyes and was walking through the door without word.

Yoruichi walked at a slow pace either in consideration for the weights Tatsuki wore or her depression made her not want to do this anymore. Tatsuki felt bad for giving her the courage to face the girl she liked when things didn't even work out for her. The only good thing that seemed to come out of this was the knowledge of when Aizen was going to attack and start his war. But was this knowledge a fair trade for the pain that Yoruichi felt now? No, no it wasn't because now she would be distracted during their training instead of focused making her hold back more than she already did.

They approached the trap door and Yoruichi glanced back at Tatsuki, "Aren't you forgetting something?"

Tatsuki gave her a bit of an odd look before realizing that she had left her zanpakutou in the dining room after she finished speaking with Urahara due to her shock of her wounds being treated without her knowledge. She immediately hunched her shoulders, "I'll go get them."

"I'll get it for you." Yoruichi offered. "Go on ahead I'll meet you down there."

"Sure, they're in the dining room." Tatsuki said while Yoruichi walked down the hallway.

When the woman left her sight she let out a sigh and slumped her posture a little, already regretting the weights but at least they weren't as heavy as they were last time. Well, it was either that or she had become really accustomed to it and didn't notice anymore but the tone in Yoruichi's voice when she talked about it the day before held so much guilt for what she was doing so it seemed unlikely that it was anywhere close to being the same weight making her wonder just how much it was now.

It seemed clear to her that Yoruichi saw her old subordinate in Tatsuki. That would probably explain the compassion she saw in Yoruichi's eyes at times. It was unlikely that there was an ulterior reason for it but there was no way to ask her about it since she looked so torn up when she had walked by the younger girl that any questions that could be brought up would just make things worse. But with the upcoming war those two would be fighting near each other and it may disturb her to the point where she can't focus properly.

Tatsuki opened the trapdoor and realized that she may have to pry when they sparred to see how Yoruichi would take it just like it had happened to her. Though if Yoruichi had the same reaction that she did there was no way the fight would end well. There would be no way she could defend against anything that woman threw at her while she still had the weights on. Even if Yoruichi were to hold back even more than she usually did, which was unlikely, there was little chance that she would be able to move fast enough to avoid anything.

She climbed down the small hole and closed the trapdoor like she always did before starting down into the darkness below. Even now climbing down this ladder gave her the chills and she felt as though the darkness was suffocating her with each step the deeper she went into it. She hurried to get to the lighter part of the climb where the rungs evened out so the feeling would fade and she wouldn't feel like she was falling with every step due to the pull of gravity plus the weights on her legs.

Tatsuki move carefully but quickly from the pull she tried desperately to fight so she wouldn't fall. When the rungs evened out she felt more at ease knowing that they would be easier to find and her heart would calm from the near constant falling feeling that she felt with every rung. She left the dark part and felt relief and let out a small sigh even though there was still a long way to go she at least didn't feel like she was being suffocated any longer but the falling feeling wouldn't be shaken until she reached the ground where she intended to sit down and take a small break before her match with Yoruichi to let her muscles have a small break though her determination to get stronger was still high.

Her legs were already starting to feel stiff as she continued to descend the ladder at her slow pace. She glanced down knowing that there was still a long way to down and soon found the reminder of her climb discouraging making her wonder if she could still achieve flight but Honoban had been with her at the time and he wasn't now so the chances of it were slim so she resumed her slow and painful decent which only became more painful with each rung in the ladder.

Something began to feel off for her that crept up on her like a tiger hunting its prey making her stop and look around the training area. The feeling was familiar to her but she couldn't place it. It felt as though a surge of power went off but it wasn't just one it was multiple. She scanned the training grounds for any visible reiatsu but found nothing in sight and knew that anything of this stature would undoubtedly be visible to anyone that could sense it if it were close by but there was nothing to be seen at all causing her to become uneasy.

A slight movement in the distance caught her eye and she leaned out a bit to try and make it out but to no avail since it was too far away for her to make it out. She watched it for a while and she slowly allowed her mind to wonder what the small movement was since from the distance it was at it was clearly not human and there was no noise to determine if it were a hollow or not since the one she had faced before had constantly made noise. This made her wonder if it were another form of test.

Any thought of what was going to happen vanished when she felt something she hadn't felt in a while. She knew immediately what it was and it warmed her and made her eyes blur with tears. She was able to sense Orihime's presence again and that overjoyed her and made her wondered if she had returned but that was soon silenced since she felt that the girl's presence was still too far away for her to be back but everything in her mind and heart told her that the girl was safe and okay now.

A warm and loving smile graced her lips for the first time since she last saw her beloved friend. Tears of joy rolled down her cheeks and Tatsuki released the ladder with one hand to wipe them away but they just kept rolling down her face. Then it happened, a loud howl reached her ears from the distance making her turn in shock to see that a hollow was in fact in the training grounds and was now coming after her. It wasn't long after she heard the hollow, in fact it was when she turned, that she lost her balance and fell.

If her adrenaline shot up and slowed her fall in her mind it didn't seem like it since she was falling at a normal speed but considering she had the weights on her adrenaline had picked up. Tatsuki fell backwards while the hollow came closer to her but if she were to look at it then it would be moving a lot slower than she was now. Her heart thundered inside her chest and threatened to burst while it beat lout enough to make her think that she would go deaf with each beat. The single word that passed her lips was loud and clear enough to hear and even surprised her as she spoke it, "Honoban."

Of all the things to pass her lips the name of her zanpakutou was strange to her since her mind had been clouded with thoughts of Orihime before she fell then all she knew was fear. A small orange light appeared above her from the trap door and quickly grew in brightness and speed as it came closer to her. Tatsuki's eyes widened at the sight of the ball of fire approaching her at such a great speed. When it came within arm's length the fire burst and faded away leaving only the fox.

Honoban met Tatsuki's eyes for a moment before transforming into her swords. She grabbed them immediately and in that instant Honoban told her exactly what to do and she obliged without question. She straightened herself out quickly and turned to face the hollow that was coming at her. Tatsuki slid her weapons under her sash before unsheathing them and yelling, "Sho-Bo."

Fire engulfed her blades and legs while she pulled in her legs before stretching out to launch herself at the hollow. Everything about this felt completely natural to her while her body flew at the hollow. Even from the distance that remained between them she could tell that it was much bigger and stronger than the last one she fought. Her adrenaline rush faded and she had total control of everything while she held no more fear of this situation leaving only her courage to face this hollow, the warmth inside her for the girl she loved, and the warmth surrounding her from the flames of her reiatsu.

When she got closer to the hollow she realized the flaw in her advance but soon came around it and the hollow by shifting her weight to avoid it while slicing through its outstretched arm. It didn't react to the attack at all, though Tatsuki had no way of knowing that with her back turned. They both came to a stop and they turned to face each__other. Tatsuki steeled her eyes as she picked up her guard and held no faults in her stance from all her training and she was more than determined to win this fight and achieve a new feat and bring herself one step closer to being strong enough to protect Orihime.

_**Do you think you can hurt me, soul reaper-not-soul reaper?**_ The hollow's voice was cold and harsh but it didn't frighten Tatsuki in the slightest. She had complete confidence in her bond with Honoban and he literally just went to her side when she called for him and saved her life. _**You're not even half of what you pretend to be.**_

It laughed harshly at Tatsuki but she went at it without care and without word. She had no intention of communicating with this thing. When she got closer to the hollow it lashed out to hit her but Tatsuki dodged to its blind side to avoid the other arm as well. When she got beside it she came to a quick stop and hopped to the side and over the hollow to get at its face and slay it but its arm came at her again to defend itself. Tatsuki narrowed her eyes as she just barely managed to avoid it and had to give up her own opportunity to attack. She landed on its shoulder and tried to jump away but wasn't fast enough and the hollow soon got a hold of her before she got away from its reach. Just like before she couldn't move her arms enough but it had no chance of devouring her since the weight she carried was too much for the hollow to be able to lift.

But the hollow proved to be strong enough to lift her regardless of the extra weight she had to carry. She already knew that her fire technique had faded to nothing since the hollow still held her and the warmth had faded from her arms and legs. The hollow brought it towards its mouth but she just smirked at the opportunity she was given, "Hono-genkai."

Her barrier came up and burned the flesh but didn't extend far enough to reach its face. She was unfortunately thrown away from it so she couldn't make another attempt to attack it and before she could even say the command the fire covered her blades and legs again and she couldn't help but smirk at the knowledge of how strong her bond with Honoban was now. _**Do you think you're clever?**_

Again Tatsuki didn't speak to the hollow and her only response to it was a cold glare while she raised one part of her zanpakutou and pointed it at its face while the other rested idly by her side. The hollow howled angrily at her taunt and came at her while swinging its fist at her but she simply blocked it with complete confidence in her strength and with the added weight it was less likely that she would be pushed back by its strength no matter how strong its punches were.

Unfortunately she didn't take in account that it had lifted her with ease and was forced back quite a distance. Her confidence wavered when she realized that this wouldn't be an easy fight for her and her chances weren't as great as she believed them to be but regardless of this small realization she charged right back at it without hesitation at all knowing that she couldn't back down and run away. She had already stated that she wouldn't give up and that was her resolve.

Her zanpakutou made contact with its fist and this time she wasn't pushed back but she also noticed that she wasn't puncturing its skin at all. She used its fist as momentum to jump away after realizing that continuing contact would just be a wasted effort. There had to be a way to get past its defense and her mind raced to strategize every possibility she could think of but the hollow had a much better reach than she did and she had nothing to throw at it to do damage or even distract it.

The hollow laughed its bone chilling laugh when the side of its arm started to smoke slightly. Tatsuki was already aware of what was happening now since she had already seen this happen once before in her inner world. She was well aware of hollows healing ability and wasn't fazed or even concerned about this in the slightest just like she hadn't been when she fought the hollow inside her. She raised her zanpakutou in front of her and crossed the blades so the edges were connecting before she swiftly pulled them diagonally away from the others creating sparks along the way as she brought her arms out to her side ane yelled, "Yakimasu, Honoban."

The fire on her blades turned from their normal light orange to white while the heat intensified and became wilder. The orange flames moved up her arm as if to protect her from the intensity of the white flames that danced on her blade without pause or course while it angrily fed off the oxygen around it yet produced no smoke and only now did she truly understand what Yoruichi meant when she had said that her reiatsu looked alive when it materialized.

Tatsuki picked up her stance and glared at the unfazed hollow before her. She carried no more doubt in her mind or heart and she trusted her skills completely and trusted Honoban even more than that. With this trust she felt her resolve strengthened along with her determination allowing the flames on her blade seemed to grow in intensity making a smirk grow on Tatsuki's face moments before she lunged at the hollow without even a glimpse of fear in her being. It was non-existent to her, she had surpassed it with confidence.

It attacked her but instead of blocking the hollows attack Tatsuki swung both her short swords at its fist. She felt both blades pierce its flesh and cut through each finger and this time the hollow did react to its wound by backing away while its severed fingers fell away and disappeared. Blood poured from where its fingers had been and the cut that stretched down the center of its wrist a little.

Tatsuki looked at the center wound in confusion before she realized that was where she had brought her blades together and the flames touched. When she realized that it was immediately evident what had happened at that moment, the two flames combined and grew into a much larger flame. With this small conclusion she decided to test it out and what better time to do that than with her next and final attack with the knowledge of being stronger than the hollow with this new technique.

She leapt at the hollow and easily climbed to a higher height and allowed herself to fall in front of it while her blades made contact with the other above her head before they were brought down on the hollows face. Urahara's voice rang through her head and she recalled what he had said about two part zanpakutou; _they are two parts of one._

Her blade cut through the whole hollow and it began to disappear while her blade left it. She jumped away from it cautiously with her zanpakutou separated from the other part. When she came to a stop she held them out in front of her with a cocky smile before holding them away from her body and combined them once more to see the full look of it as the flame immediately doubled in length and life while the heat from it burned her face even with the distance leaving her no doubt that it could burn through anything it touched but strangely it wasn't too bright to look at. Her cocky smile widened and her mind browsed the possibilities that this held for her. With this in her possession she would have a better chance at being useful in the war.

"Once more you impress me, Tatsuki." Yoruichi called while approaching her.

Tatsuki glanced over at her and separated her zanpakutou to ease the heat around her but when she did so the fire around it died completely leaving only the orange flames at her feet that granted her flight. Her breathing immediately became laboured and her body felt weak and gravity began to pull her down. "I need to get to the ground."

"Are you afraid of heights now?" Yoruichi asked with a smirk but it soon faded when Tatsuki began to sink to the ground. Yoruichi followed at a bit of a faster pace as she watched Tatsuki with growing concern, "It took a lot out of you, didn't it?"

Tatsuki only managed to nod while her eyes and body grew heavy on her. If she could she would tell Yoruichi just what that technique had just done to her aside from a cocky invincible feeling she still had regardless of her exhaustion. Soon her eyes were near impossible to keep open and she could no longer slow her decent anymore and fell at a much faster pace but her consciousness had already fallen away taking away any fear she could have had and there was no burst of adrenaline to slow her awareness down for her. At this point Tatsuki was too tired to care about her fall and hardly even noticed that she was falling.

She was much closer to the ground then she was originally when she started to return to the ground but it was still a bad height to fall from. Yoruichi went for her immediately but before she even got close Tatsuki was engulfed in flames making her stop half out of fear of the flames and half because the flames slowed her decent and allowed her a safe decent to the ground. It was her zanpakutou that was doing this making it perfectly clear that this was no replica zanpakutou but a real one.

That had been proven to Yoruichi earlier when she carried it to the trapdoor and the spirit manifested itself instead of the short swords that she held. It had jumped out of her hands and ran to the trapdoor before disappearing through it. Yoruichi had followed it down and saw what was happening and watched with surprise at the hollow making itself known to her then her shock turned to intrigue while she watched Tatsuki adjust to the situation immediately. She had watched from a distance ready to step in when necessary but that time never came much to her surprise.


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer::I own nothing but half the idea. lol**

**Chapter 10: Pushing the Limit**

Tatsuki was in a deep state of unconsciousness but she wasn't in her inner world, she was in a deep dream state and all she dreamt about was being with Orihime. It was after the war and they were both enjoying themselves. Tatsuki was at complete ease and her fears of being rejected didn't come to her once. It was the perfect reality for her and she enjoyed every second of it because deep down she knew that this wasn't real and it was just a dream that she would soon have to wake up from.

Her dream ended sooner than she expected and she opened her eyes with pure disappointment when she looked up at the artificial sky above her. She found herself lying on the ground while her head was rested on Yoruichi's lap. Tatsuki quickly tried to get up but found she couldn't move her body any more than enough to gather Yoruichi's attention. The woman glanced down at her and smiled, "You were out for a while. I'm glad to see you're alright."

"Why can't I move?" Tatsuki asked. "Is it the weights?"

"No, I removed them when you lost consciousness." Yoruichi said. "The reason why you can't move is because you have no energy left."

"It took more out of me then I thought." Tatsuki said with a slight laugh.

"It might have been because your reiatsu had to support you and all the extra weight as well. That's why I took the weights off of you." Yoruichi said. "I want to see that technique again but at its full potential. Let me assure you I won't let you use it until you regain your strength. In the meantime I want you to rest some more."

Tatsuki nodded and Yoruichi brought her gaze away from her. The look of sadness still haunted her eyes even when she looked off in the distance. Tatsuki watched her with worry and quickly concluded why this woman was still so upset. "You really like her don't you?"

Yoruichi snapped out of her sadness at the voice making her look down at Tatsuki almost with surprise, "Who do I like?"

"Your subordinate." Tatsuki answered. "It's a little obvious with that look on your face."

"It's not just her that's on my mind, Tatsuki." Yoruichi said quietly.

"What else then?" Tatsuki asked as her worry grew.

"You've grown a lot since you first came here." Yoruichi said with a growing smile. "It's hard to believe that it was only five days ago and you've already achieved so much."

"I had a great teacher." Tatsuki said with the best shrug she could manage, which wasn't much, but it made Yoruichi laugh a little. "Besides, I've been training all my life also so this is a little easy for me."

Yoruichi laughed even more at the last part before she said, "You've been struggling through this whole thing and don't deny it."

"Not the whole thing." Tatsuki said. "It was only really hard when I was working alone. When Honoban is with me then I'm perfectly fine. I even took on that hollow with ease because we fought as a team."

Yoruichi fell silent as she watched Tatsuki carefully for a while before a smile formed on her face, "When did this start happening?"

"It started last night when I destroyed the hollow that was inside me." Tatsuki said. "It took the shape of all my fear but I beat it. I'm not afraid of anything anymore and since that happened I've been able to hear Honoban clearly. I know my training will go a lot smoother now because my bond with zanpakutou has grown."

"You don't care about getting stronger anymore?" Yoruichi asked skeptically.

"I do, but that's not why I'm doing all this." Tatsuki said confidently. "I'm not just doing this for Orihime's sake either. I want to help everyone else too because right now Orihime is out of my hands."

Yoruichi smiled almost fondly down at her and repeated what she said before, "You've grown a lot since you first came here."

"I had a great teacher." Tatsuki replied with a cocky smile.

Yoruichi chuckled a little in response and said, "Let me know when you're ready to continue."

"I'm ready now if you want to start." Tatsuki said with complete determination.

"Let's give it another minute." Yoruichi said.

Tatsuki nodded with a yawn and unwillingly closed her eyes again. She soon found herself drifting back to her dream where she spent time with Orihime. This time was different for her though, instead of her feelings being kept a secret she had confessed them and Orihime had returned them. Now the two girls weren't just hanging out and doing what they usually did together but were cuddling together and enjoying the others company a bit more than they usually did due to Tatsuki's nervousness on her own feelings.

While Tatsuki slept Yoruichi sat deep in thought about the coming war and Tatsuki's involvement in the matter. There would be no time for her to master the technique she had just discovered on her own unless it really was just the weights that used up so much of her energy and considering that it was her reiatsu that allowed her to fly it wasn't unlikely. Though she would only really know when Tatsuki had enough strength to perform it once more. Until then she could only debate how much the technique would really affect her when it was used again.

What really bothered her however, was the hollow that was down here. It hadn't been captured by anyone to be a test for Tatsuki. Even if it was this hollow was far too strong and not even Urahara would have put her up to it without being present to supervise but was he even aware of its presence? Had anyone in the shop known about it? It was very unlikely considering that Yoruichi was in charge of training Tatsuki in combat so if it was caught and brought down to test the human's strength it would have been done by her and no one else.

It was already clear that it was sent to this very location since the shop was protected by a barrier and no reiatsu could get in or out so it had to have been sent on some sort of task by another hollow or Aizen himself. Unfortunately if it were the latter then it meant that he knew of Tatsuki's involvement now if he hadn't already. If he knew then she could be in a lot of danger and would need to be protected but the question still remained, how could he have found out about her? The only way he could have was if she was training elsewhere or if he had noticed her potential long before Yoruichi had begun training her.

Tatsuki stirred in her sleep a little bringing Yoruichi out of her thoughts in time to see her wake up. She slowly sat up on her own and rubbed her face to wipe away her remaining tire. There would be no more time to rest now. That time was up and now the really intense training would have to start no matter how much of a soft spot the woman had for the girl. Tatsuki was as dedicated to her training as her little bee had been and they had many things in common with one another.

Yoruichi stood up while Tatsuki grabbed her zanpakutou and glanced back at the woman with complete determination, "I'm sorry it took so long but I'm ready now."

"It's fine." Yoruichi responded. "This way."

Tatsuki was up and following Yoruichi with ease and found that there was nothing present to limit her movements. There were no questions asked and no explanations were needed to be given. Tatsuki trusted Yoruichi to know exactly what to do and what was necessary for her to know. She slid her weapons under her sash while they approached their usual training area and came to a stop near the pillars. Tatsuki reached for her zanpakutou while watching Yoruichi for approval. When she got a nod her weapons were unsheathed swiftly and she was ready for anything that was to come. "I want to see that technique you used earlier. Can you do it again?"

"Yeah probably," Tatsuki said. "Do you want me to do it right now?"

"Humor me." Yoruichi replied.

A smirk quickly formed on Tatsuki's face, "You might want to back up a bit."

Yoruichi stood her ground so Tatsuki moved back a bit in fear of harming her with the flames. She raised her swords in front of her and positioned them the same way she had before and took a deep breath to calm herself. In one swift movement she pulled the swords apart and yelled, "Yakimsu, Honoban."

The white flames encompassed her blades and orange ones snaked up her arms protectively. Tatsuki exhaled her breath and glanced over at Yoruichi, who looked almost stunned. Her concern for the older woman grew, "Is everything alright, Yoruichi?"

"That shouldn't even be possible." Yoruichi said earning a very confused look. "Tatsuki, you've achieved a shikai in only five days of wielding a zanpakutou. That has never been one before."

"Okay so when can I achieve bankai?" Tatsuki asked half-jokingly with a cocky smile dawning on her face before she became more serious. "Do you want to see what I can do with this?"

"Of course," Yoruichi said and pulled out a throwing knife from her arm warmer.

Tatsuki picked up her stance and the knife was thrown at her. Before the knife even made contact with the blade itself it was engulfed by the white flames. There was a faint sound of contact before whatever was left of the liquefied metal splattered on a nearby pillar. It steamed and dripped down the rock in slow drops while the two watched it stunned by this development but Tatsuki quickly grew cocky and said, "That's nothing, check this out."

She approached the pillar and joined the blades and brought them beside her in a bit of an awkward stance before she swung at the pillar and cut through it at a bit of an angle to make it collapse. Tatsuki separated her blades with pride and watched the pillar collaps to the side. She glanced back at Yoruichi whose shock had intensified before her gaze slowly went back to Tatsuki. "Pretty cool, huh?"

"I fear the flame of your bankai." Yoruichi said slowly. "Fire based zanpakutou are always very powerful but if you can do this with only your shikai… I forbid you to pursue your bankai. There is no telling how powerful it will be or how well you can control it. You need much more training before you try and achieve it. If you achieve it before you are ready not only will you put yourself in danger but everyone around you as well."

Tatsuki was furious with his decision but didn't voice it since she knew very well that Yoruichi has had much experience in these things while she had less than a week. She trusted this woman's judgment more than her own with this even if it infuriated her but all she did was nod and say, "I won't pursue it but I trust you will teach me how to control it when the time comes."

"Of course," Yoruichi said with a nod. "But for now let's start with this, shall we?"

Tatsuki nodded in turn but soon dawned a confused look on what she would be doing exactly since anything that touched her blade didn't exactly last long. "What am I supposed to be doing?"

"Knock down as many of the pillars as you can." Yoruichi said simply as she gestured to them. "I'll be timing you."

Tatsuki nodded and went at them with flash step. She got five or six down before she had to break from her technique but continued on without hesitation and found that by the time she got a good number of them down she could use flash step for a lot longer and was soon knocking down at least ten of them at a time before she had to pull out of flash step. This made her determination rise as she knew she was getting better and stronger with each task she was given.

When she got to the last few pillars she decided to push her flash step and took out the remaining fifteen of them before hurrying back to Yoruichi where she pulled out and just barely managed to keep her composure and nearly lost her balance. She looked over to Yoruichi while the flames continued to dance restlessly on her zanpakutou and offered the woman a cocky smile, "How's that?"

"Not bad." Yoruichi said. "It only took you twelve and a half minutes to knock them all down."

"_Only_, what the hell is that supposed to mean?" Tatsuki snapped. "That was hard to do."

"That was too slow." Yoruichi said simply.

"It's pretty damned good for just learning that technique yesterday." Tatsuki argued.

"Alright, I'll give you that but for a protégée it's too slow." Yoruichi said.

"Now you're comparing me to a protégée?" Tatsuki asked angrily. "You think I can compete with this 'protégée' of yours?"

A smile grew on Yoruichi's face, "You misunderstood me, I'm calling you a protégée."

Tatsuki fell silent and was completely taken aback. She had always assumed that Yoruichi enjoyed pushing her and messing with her but now she was looking at the woman's actions differently with that statement. "As a protégée you should have been better than that but you haven't mastered your shikai yet."

"Then teach me how to use it." Tatsuki said with determination.

"Another time," Yoruichi said calmly. "Let's take a break for now, you must be hungry."

"I'm fine." Tatsuki said. "I want to continue."

Say that after you seal your zanpakutou." Yoruichi said. "Besides, even prodigies need to eat too. It doesn't matter how stubborn you are."

Tatsuki let out a sigh as the flames died down on her zanpakutou. They went out and she felt a wave of tire hit her from the strain it was putting on her body. She felt now how she felt after she had finished her weight training. Her whole body was stiff and sore while every movement sent aches through her. She sheathed her swords with a wince and she looked to Yoruichi for further instructions or even a small explanation on why her body was so sore and how she could overcome that in the future.

"Keep in mind that you are human even when you use these powers. They will take their toll on you more than they would have if you had soul reaper abilities." Yoruichi explained. "You need to take double the effort to take care of yourself. In battle you must avoid injuries at all cost because you're human body can't resist as much as a soul reaper can. You have to be very careful to protect yourself."

"If I get in trouble then I use my barrier." Tatsuki said. "I've already used it a few times and it works fine."

"How strong is it?" Yoruichi asked skeptically. "And how fast do you think you can use it?"

"I don't-" She was cut off as a knife was thrown at her and hit her shoulder before she could react.

Tatsuki backed away from Yoruichi slowly and waited for the next attack but the woman only smirked at her and disappeared. Her mind told her to grab her swords to defend herself but instead she obeyed her instincts, "Hono-genkai."

Her barrier came up around her protectively but did nothing and she felt something pierce her other shoulder. She unsheathed her swords immediately and picked up her guard and focused on finding Yoruichi's presence but she couldn't find it anywhere around her. It was as if she had no presence anymore but that couldn't be possible. Only a moment before the first attack she had been able to sense it perfectly but now it was like she stood here alone but she knew from experience that Yoruichi was still around for another attack.

She took her swords and crossed the blades in front of her as her eyes narrowed, "Yakimasu, Honoban."

The white flames returned to her blade while she picked up her stance before another knife pierced her leg below the knee making it collapse from the sudden pain but she quickly picked herself up and took in a deep breath and exhaled to calm her thoughts so that she could focus. She searched carefully for Yoruichi's reiatsu but found nothing causing her major concern since she knew that without that she wouldn't be able to fight the woman properly and she refused to be helpless against anyone. 'Honoban, is there anything I can do to counter this?'

Honoban remained silent inside her and another knife made contact with her other leg making her fall to one knee. Tatsuki grit her teeth angrily, some protégée she turned out to be. She wasn't even able to defend herself against this and Honoban had left her to fend for herself. Her breathing picked up with her anger which soon began to consume her along with the flames of her reiatsu. This time she allowed it to happen without concern because she knew that there was no hollow to fear anymore.

_**So naïve,**_ A harsh voice spoke in her mind. _** How very human of you.**_

Tatsuki's eyes widened with fear and she stood up despite the pain in her legs from the knives. When she got to her feet another knife pierced her in the stomach but she paid it little mind and only her vision beginning to blur and fade but she knew this wasn't death coming to claim her. Her mind raced and her fear grew to drown out her anger. The reiatsu danced around her freely, scaring her even more with the knowledge that she wasn't the one doing that.

The flames around her zanpakutou were doused instantly as she lost control of even that making her more aware of how much her hands were shaking. Yoruichi appeared in front of her with a knife ready to be thrown at her while she held a stern look on her face, "Have you already given up?"

Yoruichi watched Tatsuki stand there shaking in her defeat. She hadn't expected her to do any good but this was just pathetic. All Tatsuki had done was attempt her useless barrier and released her zanpakutou then she had choked. The odd thing about this now was that her reiatsu had materialized again even with the control that she claimed she had over her powers now making Yoruichi believe that something had to be wrong. Tatsuki was never silent when it came to things like this, she only felt silent when she was uncomfortable or taking about her emotions. This had nothing to do with either and she had failed tasks before making this no reason for her silence. "Tatsuki, are you alright?"

There was no response proving that something had to be wrong. The only time Tatsuki remained silent was when she was uncomfortable or taking about her emotions and this situation had nothing to do with emotion unless she began to believe that she would be useless to Orihime, though after this point in her training that wasn't possible unless the opponent was far above her strength but even still her speed would prove to be enough. Yoruichi was sure to train her so that she wouldn't have much weakness against any enemy no matter their strength or defence. She was positive that as long as Tatsuki had control she could survive most battles even if she was outmatched.

Yoruichi observed Tatsuki silently for a moment before throwing the knife at her but it was swallowed by her reiatsu instantly and fell away. Both the knife and Tatsuki hit the ground simultaniously making Yoruichi rush to her side only to stop when the flames intensified and burst out at her threateningly like it was trying to engulf her as well. She was hesitant on allowing the reiatsu to engulf her despite how quickly the blood was spilling from Tatsuki's wounds with her body weight pressing the knives deeper into her body. She quickly lost patience and care for her own safety and ran in to Tatsuki's side to try and snap her out of whatever was happening but when she got to her she felt the intensity of her reiatsu making her fear for the girl's safety even more. Yoruichi crouched down and pulled the knives out of her back and legs before turning her over carefully to remove the other ones.

The knives were cast aside quickly before Yoruichi picked up Tatsuki's body and carried it to the hot spring since it was the closest source of water. She used flash step to get there in hopes of escaping the flames but they followed her closely while she carried its source in her arms. When she got to the spring she stopped to take a deep breath before plunging in with Tatsuki still in her arms in hopes of dousing the flames away. She wasn't sure how long she would be under the water but she would remain under it for as long as it took.

It was only a moment before she found Tatsuki's face and pressed their lips together while prying her mouth open with her tongue so that the two could share oxygen. Yoruichi pulled Tatsuki's body closer to her own with one arm while her other kept her face against hers as the water continued to heat around them while the outburst continued but the water killed the fire when it formed and protected them from further injury while healing their wounds. Tatsuki was held closely while Yoruichi paid close attention to any movement that was made along with the growing temperature of the water.

The rise in temperature slowed and began to fade to the regular temperature that it should be and soon after Tatsuki started to move around a bit as she tried to get away but Yoruichi held her still for another minute before finding it safe to surface. They broke the small kiss and Tatsuki pulled away from the woman as she choked on air while she covered her mouth with the back of her wrist with a cold glare at Yoruichi.

"Are you alright?" Yoruichi asked while she panted for air.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Tatsuki snapped.

Yoruichi smirked, "You're fine."

Tatsuki was taken aback for a moment before looking around at her current surroundings with clear surprise and asked, "What happened?"

"You lost control again and with your wounds I couldn't let you vent it out." Yoruichi said. "I brought you in here so you wouldn't bleed to death and with how long it took you to vent your reiatsu you would have if I left you. You're reiatsu vented while we were underwater and you didn't drown because we shared oxygen."

Guilt filled Tatsuki's eyes making her look away, "Thanks for saving me."

Yoruichi placed her hand on Tatsuki's shoulder in comfort and she too held a guilt filled look, "I'm sorry that I keep doing this to you."

Tatsuki met her eyes with surprise, "Don't apologize, I agreed to this. I'll take whatever comes out of this training, good or bad."

Yoruichi smiled a little at her continued dedication and she moved to the edge of the spring, "Shall we relax for a bit before we continue?"

Tatsuki smiled as well, "Why not, we're already in here."

Tatsuki followed her to the side where she began to undo her robes and undress. She placed her robes on the ground before taking off her armor and putting that aside her as well while Yoruichi watched her with an amused chuckle making Tatsuki look over at her questioningly. "You don't have to be so embarrassed around me. Trust me, if I wanted to do something to you than you would already know."

Yoruichi left the water leaving Tatsuki a little nervous since she had no idea what the woman was implying with that. She turned to ask her but found her undressing not far away making her turn back around quickly with a blush on her face and she tried to ask her question, "W-what did you mean by that?"

Yoruichi entered the water right next to Tatsuki and swung one leg over her to mount her while the young girl went as red as possible. The woman lowered her lips so that they were a hairsbreadth from the girls making her stiffen immediately in awkwardness and she tried to ignore her growing arousal. Yoruichi moved her face so her lips were by her ear and spoke in a sultry voice, "If I wanted you I would have already taken you since you make it _so_ easy."

Tatsuki felt Yoruichi's fingertips graze her sides gently while she squirmed unwillingly under the woman's fingers that continued to get closer to her breasts at a taunting pace. Just when there was about to be contact Yoruichi stopped and got off Tatsuki in a burst of laughter, "You're more fun to tease than Ichigo."

Tatsuki felt her face flush even more while she sank under the water a little and avoided looking at her, "Are you just doing this because I remind you of her?"

Yoruichi's laughter stopped at the mention of the girl she loved making her bring all her attention to the embarrassed teenager only a few feet away from her. She watched the younger girl with minor surprise that she had come to that conclusion but she was familiar with the emotional attachment to a really close friend that turned into love. "No, that's not why I did it. I just wanted to tease you and nothing more. Even though our time is almost up we should still relax and have a bit of fun every now and then to relieve stress for the coming battle. There's also your own feelings for Orihime to consider, I may tease you but I'd never go further than that."

"I understand your reasoning but you still don't have to do things like that." Tatsuki said angrily.

"Just lighten up and enjoy life." Yoruichi said with a smirk but it faded when she continued, "You never know how much longer you'll have to enjoy it."

Tatsuki looked over at her but remained silent knowing that her constant outbursts would likely be her downfall in the coming war if she couldn't gain control over her reiatsu and her fears. If that happened in a real battle there would be no hesitation and she would be killed either by her enemy or the hollow inside her. Neither one would give her the slightest glimpse of mercy once she was beaten or she lost control of her reiatsu. There would be nothing more that she could do after that and she would have failed to do anything to help and she would just end up killing herself and not helping anyone at all.


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer::I own nothing but half the idea. lol**

**Chapter 11: Leisure time**

The whole day had been dedicated to training once more and again Tatsuki had made tremendous progress on her defence and even her control had gotten better. She had to return to her inner world to confront her hollow but found nothing there and Honoban offered her no reason or explanation for its voice that spoke to her as if that was all that remained of it and persisted in her mind when she tried to test herself or get stronger. She knew the only way to destroy it now was to let go of all her fears and doubts but at the moment that was an impossible feat with the nearing battle bringing her nerves to a new high. The thought made her confidence in her own strength and skill pointless to her since her last fight with Yoruichi had proved her vulnerability. There was a lot less holding back now and Tatsuki was pushing herself more than she should have and still barely got a scratch on the older woman.

Both the woman were now relaxing on the roof of the shop and watching the night sky in silence. There were quite a few stars out on this night. They were all so far away but to Tatsuki they were a lot closer than her mind was now. All she could think about was Orihime and that girl had been on her mind a lot lately even when her mind should be absent of distractions. In the midst of her thoughts she distantly became away of the gold eyes that watched her making her bring her attention back to her surroundings and to Yoruichi and gave the woman a questioning look. "You've been distracted lately, what's on your mind?"

"I was just thinking about someone." Tatsuki said.

"So the protégée has a weakness." Yoruichi teased. "Who would have thought?"

Tatsuki gave her an impatient look and said, "You already knew about that and it's not like you have no weakness either, damned tease."

She had muttered the last part under her breath but it was heard anyways and made Yoruichi laugh, "You're still not over that? It was only a joke."

"Well play your jokes on someone else." Tatsuki said angrily. "I'm not interested in your humor."

"You're such a poor sport, Tatsuki." Yoruichi complained.

"Just stop it." Tatsuki said sourly and averted her eyes.

"Is everything alright?" Yoruichi asked.

"She's just been on my mind a lot lately." Tatsuki admitted. "A part of me is telling me that she's okay now and that she'll return soon."

"That explains why you've been distracted all day." Yoruichi said taking on a more serious tone. "If she _is_ safe than that means our time is almost up and your training is over, there are just two more tasks left for you to do."

Tatsuki looked back at Yoruichi to find her eyes had returned to the sky and had lost all playfulness. "If my training is over then why do I still have tasks to do?"

"Think if it more as tests." Yoruichi said. "How well you do will determine how you will participate in the battle. I don't want to put you on the front lines if you can't handle it. This will be the only warning that you will receive, do _not_ hold back during these tests because your opponent won't be. This will be a real fight."

Tatsuki nodded distantly, "I'm ready whenever you are."

"Good, your test starts first thing tomorrow morning." Yoruichi said. "For now just get some rest and relax. You should take this time to sort out your distractions."

"You should do the same." Tatsuki said while she watched Yoruichi carefully as she glanced over at her again. "You've been thinking about your subordinate a lot lately, I can tell. You were distracted a lot lately during our last match."

"Clever," Yoruichi said. "But you're the one that's had me think about her for the past few days. You two are a little alike."

"How do you figure that?" Tatsuki asked. "You've never really talked about her before."

"Well, you both push on no matter what the circumstances are or how bad the situation is. Neither of you settle for second best either. You'd keep going until you can't even move if it were necessary. It's almost too amusing how you both get embarrassed so easily as well." Yoruichi said fondly. "It's strange how the two of you ended up in the same situation."

"What do you mean?" Tatsuki asked curiously.

"You were both left behind with no answers or explanation by the one you love." Yoruichi said sadly. "All because of the same man as well."

Tatsuki watched pain grow in the older woman's eyes. She sat up slowly without removing her gaze from her mentor while a single tear rolled down her cheek but there was nothing that Tatsuki could do for her now. Giving her courage to face her subordinate again wouldn't be a good thing. It was too late to do anything about their bond. It would only make the battle harder than it already was going to be for them to get through. Just the others presence would be a distraction but if they were trying to make things work between them it would be even worse.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Tatsuki asked carefully. "It might help to get it off your chest. If it's still on your mind during the battle it won't end well for you and if you fall she will to. Protect yourself before you protect her."

A slight smirk formed on Yoruichi's face, "That sounds familiar."

"I've had a great teacher." Tatsuki said returning Yoruichi's smile. "If you weren't the one training me I wouldn't be as strong as I am now. I wouldn't be this protégée that you're so proud of."

Yoruichi's smile widened a little while she stared out at the distant stars with a deep sigh, "She was really special, my Little Bee. Very dedicated and held so much potential for improvement. It's no surprise that she's a Captain now and no longer a simple special ops member."

Tatsuki watched in silence while Yoruichi spoke, "After I left she held so much hatred towards me for leaving her behind that she pushed herself to take all my titles from me but she'll never surpass my speed. That's one title that no one can take from me but my Little Bee has become very strong and she no longer needs me around her even when she broke down after our fight she still cast me aside. Now she doesn't even give me a second glance. She hates that I beat her."

The woman fell silent and her eyes became a little teary. Tatsuki watched her sadly before offering a slight chuckle, "Sounds like she's putting up a tough front. It's most likely that she doesn't want to have a weakness for the coming battle. I know I don't and with our situations being similar I know I'd be avoiding Orihime right now too so I can keep my cool."

Yoruichi looked at Tatsuki with a slight smile, "Unfortunately she's a little more stubborn then you are when it comes to betrayal. She had no explanation from anyone on the matter for a hundred and ten years. You go that long without an explanation from the person you worship than try to forgive them."

This time it was Tatsuki who fell silent because she hadn't known the circumstances of Yoruichi's relationship with her subordinate and had just assumed it to be closer to what her own situation was like the woman had implied it had been. Maybe she had just wanted it to be as simple as Tatsuki's situation so she had made it seem that way to Tatsuki or maybe she didn't want to admit to how complicated it really was to save herself the grief of her situation.

Tatsuki laid down on the roof again and turned her gaze to the stars while she tried to put herself in Yoruichi's subordinate's situation but it wasn't possible because as much as she cared for Orihime she hadn't once worshipped her. Orihime was very special to her but she had never held her in such a regard that led to worship. Orihime was human and she knew that, sure the girl had flaws and her sense of logic was very questionable but even still she was perfect in Tatsuki's eyes but not enough to worship her at all.

"She still cares at least." Tatsuki managed to say.

Yoruichi glanced down at her questioningly, "What makes you say that?"

"Well, she broke down after she lost you right?" Yoruichi nodded. "Maybe she wanted to show you how much stronger she became but she couldn't because you beat her. After the war you should confront her again and bait her into a fight. Just play with her for a bit and then let her win. Who knows, maybe after that she'll be able to work things out with you if she knows she can beat you. She might just take you off the pedestal and look you in the eye and see that you're not invincible."

"It wouldn't be hard to bait her. Honestly, she's so uptight all I'd have to do is nock over her paperwork and she'd kill me for it." Yoruichi chuckled. "It might just work though, I'll give it a shot but training you has gotten me back into shape. That might be a bit of a problem."

"You should be used to holding back by now." Tatsuki said with a bit of laugh. "One day I want to have a real match with you and be able to hold my ground, even just enough to get the upper hand on you for a minute would be fine."

"You better start increasing your training then." Yoruichi said. "You may be a protégée but you still have a long way to go. Don't get too cocky or it will be the death of you."

"I know." Tatsuki said. "I've learned that lesson a while ago."

"That's good to know." Yoruichi said seriously. "Now I know I don't have to worry about you so much. Even though you've improved more than I expected you to I know that it was a mistake to ask you to get involved in these matters. I failed to realize that you were only human and will die just as easily as a human. What we're up against can kill you in the blink of an eye."

"I doubt that." Tatsuki said skeptically. "That's not even possible."

"You still hold that belief with all the things you've done and seen over the past few days?" Yoruichi asked. "That little girl that works here could kill you before you even have a chance to defend yourself."

Tatsuki watched Yoruichi with complete skepticism making the woman laugh, "I thought you weren't cocky anymore."

"It's not being cocky its common sense." Tatsuki argued. "No one can kill someone in the blink of an eye."

"I'll just have to show you then." Yoruichi said while she stood up.

She looked over and gave Tatsuki a slight smirk before disappearing from sight only leaving behind a small haze of her image before it was gone just with her presence. Tatsuki let out a sigh and stretched out on the roof while she let her mind wander back to her beloved friend and wondered how Orihime was doing and where she was at the moment. Even though she didn't want to think about the danger she was in that thought also persisted in her mind and it worsened while she continued to feel Orihime's presence distantly in her heart causing her vast concern.

After a while she couldn't stand her worry and got up in hopes of taking her mind off of things with some training before having a late supper but when she got to the ledge of the roof something hit her in the chest taking away her breath. It felt as though she had been hit by a canon and she flew back. For a moment lost her vision and the next thing she knew she was being pressed against something forcefully and shortly after she was released. She fell a few feet to the ground where she choked out a jagged breath before she was able to catch it. Her guard was raised before she even looked around but even when she did there was nothing but darkness all around her.

Tatsuki slowly rose to her feet and groped around behind her to get her bearings by touch. She felt something rough and immediately recognized it as a tree but there were no lights around so that meant that she wasn't in a park but there were no woods in Karakura so that meant she was outside of Karakura now though she couldn't comprehend how that had happened so quickly. Her heart raced at this new scenario and at the small noise in the distance and a low growl reached her ears. She looked around fearfully at what might be around her.

"Mezememasu, Honoban." Tatsuki said clearly despite her nerves and felt her reiatsu materialize in the palm of her hands and formed her zanpakutou for her. It was too dark for her to see so she was grateful she was told to memorize how long it took to materialize fully so she would know when it was necessary and for future improvement. When she hit the sixth second in her mind she ushered her second command, "Sho-bo."

The flame of her zanpakutou temporarily blinded her and left her completely vulnerable but it was the only way she'd be able to see and make her way around with some visibility. When her eyes adjusted to the light she took in her surroundings with complete focus and awareness of the surrounding forest. Her eyes stopped on the set of glowing eyes that watched her from the dark.

She moved a blade towards it to extend the reach of the light but when it neared the feet of the animal it stepped back away from it before it circled her while keeping it's body close to the ground and it's growl steady. By this she determined that it was a predator type animal but not an immediate threat and the flames of her zanpakutou would keep it away but it if it did try she would be able to fight it off or just leave the area with flash step but there was still no telling where she was and if she would even have the strength to get back to Karakura.

If she was far away then she might not have enough reiatsu to travel all the way back through the air or even with flash step considering that her reiatsu supported her flight completely. When her reiatsu ran out she wouldn't be able to see where she was going and she would be blind until the sun came up and the fire wouldn't protect her from any form of predator or threat that might attack her so she would have to conserve her reiatsu as much as she could while still being able to use it to see and protect herself.

Her blade followed the glowing eyes while the low growl started to become harsher. Tatsuki's guard was up with both blades in case there was more than one threat around her but her main focus was on the one that she could see until it seemed to lose interest with her and took off. She let out a sigh of relief but didn't drop guard while she took another look around at her surroundings before glancing up at the sky. Even if she wanted to conserve her strength she knew it would be best if she climbed to a height where she could see her surroundings and figure out what direction she should even be going in. She bent her knees before jumping up to get above tree level. Before she could even break it she was struck again in the stomach before she was thrown to the ground.

When she hit it everything went dark with the flames on her zanpakutou. She hurried to her feet but stayed low only to feel a sharp pain in her shoulder and she was forced back to the ground. An aggressive growl began right by her ear informing her that whatever animal had attacked her had her shoulder locked in its mouth. Tatsuki cried out in pain and released one blade to try and force it off of her so she could defend herself but its teeth were already deep into her flesh and its claws were piercing her back to assure its grip on her.

She was eventually successful at getting it off but its teeth tore through her flesh. Her blade was raised and she blindly groped around for the other one in hopes of finding it before she was attacked again. The moment her hand grasped the hilt the fire consumed it lighting up the small area she was in and revealed her attacker ready to pounce on her again. Her blood dripped from its mouth as it bore its teeth. Tatsuki slowly rose to her feet to avoid provoking the tanuki before she could defend herself properly.

When she was up she moved forward to try and scare it off but it only attacked her again. This time she was ready for it and braced for the attack. It lunged at her and she thrust her blade forward impaling it in the chest. She fell back under its weight and the force of its attack before forcing its body off her blade with a panicked breath. Tatsuki backed away from where the dead tanuki was and collapsed against a close by tree while her heart continued to pound in her lingering fear.

Slowly her breath calmed down and she began to relax a little but every part of her stopped cold when a small tanuki pup slowly made its way forwards towards the other tanuki with a whine. The knowledge of what happened struck her and tore her to pieces in an instant, the tanuki was just trying to protect its pup from an unknown threat and had been killed. Now the pup would be left to fend for itself and wouldn't be able to make it at such a young age.

A sob formed in her throat at what she had just done. If she had known what was happening or what would have happened ahead of time she would have left the area and not provoked the tanuki. Even though it had attacked her and injured her she felt only sadness and guilt for what she had done. "Every action holds consequence even if that consequence is unknown to us at the time. Things happen that hurt others even if it has to be done and there is no other alternative. In every battle one person wins and another loses. It is the right of the winner to decide the fate of the loser and no one else shall interfere. The battle ahead is life and death, there will be no holding back and there will be death on both sides. Those you love and those you have never even met. Do you have any right to take any of their lives or is it just necessary for survival?"

Tatsuki's eyes widened and she looked around frantically for the voice. It was Yoruichi that had spoken but she was nowhere to be seen even when she continued, "Take for instance the consequences of your actions just now. If you hadn't defended yourself you could have died but in doing so you have taken a life and condemned another. Your actions were justified for your survival but knowing now what you have done does that make it right? Kill one and condemn another to save just one life, is that a fair trade? Kill on to save hundreds, is that still a fair trade? That person would have people that care about them or rely on them and in taking that element away others will suffer. You can never truly win even if your actions are just. There are no true winners in battle, only death and suffering."

Tears rolled down Tatsuki's cheeks when the reality of the upcoming war really began to sink in. She had never really considered any of this or even truly realized that the chances of her dying were very high. In the upcoming war she would be as helpless as this tanuki pup that cried over the death of its mother while in the presence of a predator that could easily bring its end with one swing of the blade. Her participation in the war would be no more than a distraction to give others an upper hand and at this point she couldn't back out because she knew that even as a distraction she had to give others a chance for Orihime's sake. Even if she only did this for Orihime in the beginning she was doing this for everyone that she knew including Yoruichi, though the woman could easily handle herself.

Tatsuki took both blades in one hand and allowed the fire to die down a little so it still gave light but wasn't a threat before she approached the pup. "You're preaching on deaf ears now."

"This is the consequence of my actions and I will go about it the right way." Tatsuki said. "I won't let this pup struggle on its own."

"Do you think you can domesticate it?" Yoruichi asked as it amused by the thought.

"I doubt it but I don't want it to die on its own." Tatsuki said. "At the most I'll raise it until its old enough to survive on its own."

"You plan on keeping it in your house?" Yoruichi asked.

"Nope, it's staying in the training area under the shop." Tatsuki said. "We can trap in in that circular area where we normally train and feed it from there."

"How about I just kill it now and put it out of its misery." Yoruichi suggested.

"No way," Tatsuki said while she picked up the pup from its blind side. "I won the fight and the pup was also the loser so I have the say in what happens to it. You said so yourself."

"Kisuke's not going to go along with this." Yoruichi warned.

"It would only be temporary and I'll take care of it if I can." Tatsuki said and she glanced over to the direction of the voice to find Yoruichi standing at the edge of the light.

The small pup struggled in her grip as she held it partially tucked under her arm so it wouldn't fall but also couldn't bite her. She walked over to Yoruichi, who watched the tanuki with slight irritation, "I knew I should have brought you farther away from Karakura."

"It's too late for that now." Tatsuki said but wished she was brought further. "How far away are we anyways?"

"It's a couple hours on foot but we should make it in a quarter of the time with flash step." She said and walked away. "I'll slow down so you can keep up but I'm not stopping for that thing."

"It should be fine like this." Tatsuki said while she started after the woman.

They walked to a slight clearing where they jumped above tree level for more ease before they traveled by flash step. This time there was no haze left behind by Yoruichi and Tatsuki never lost sight of her. It slowly dawned on her that the small haze she saw was Yoruichi taking off making her realize that she was slowly beginning to adjust to her speed allowing her to see her before she went too fast and she lost track of the woman completely

Tatsuki was a little grateful for this new understanding even with her pressing guilt of her actions. It wasn't the only thing she could have done, she could have used flash step to escape but that thought had never occurred to her. All her focus was on her survival and all she knew was that she held two blades. There was no alternative method of action going through her mind at that time. It was just life or death and now she held the responsibility of her actions in one hand and the cause of this responsibility in the other.

At this very moment she came to the conclusion that after the war she would no longer use her zanpakutou to take a life unless there was no other alternative action. She would extinguish any other method she could think of before calling for Honoban's aid. With this decision she began to ignore Honoban's voice because she didn't want to hear any protests or temptation to get stronger. She was hanging up her sword after the war and very little things could possibly happen to change her mind on this matter. The only thing that would make her take her blades into battle would be Orihime's safety and nothing other than that.


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer::I own nothing but half the idea. lol**

**Chapter 12: The final task**

Tatsuki stood at the edge of the cliff looking down into the area she usually trained in and watched the small tanuki pup run around trying to find a way out with a pressing guilt. Her shoulder had been treated but it continued to ache since she had used it too much after the injury had occurred. Now she was resting it while she could before she began her last test though she didn't have the heart to participate in the war anymore. She had lost her will to fight last night shortly before returning to the shop.

Yoruichi stood beside her and held the same focus as Tatsuki while they both remained silent for a long time. They still had a headache from the previous evening's argument with Urahara though Yoruichi just stood aside as a bystander during the argument and still remained silent on the matter. Tatsuki had explained the situation along with her guilt for her actions and he had eventually, and very reluctantly, agreed to let it remain in the training area so long as she took care of it herself.

While Tatsuki watched the tanuki struggle to find a way out of the area she recalled the first hollow she had fought in this very spot at the beginning of her training. The similarities between their struggles were almost astounding but instead of howling the tanuki whined while it tried to find a way out. When it grew tired it would sit down and look around before whining some more and eventually lied down with a whimper.

"It kind of reminds me of the first hollow I fought here." Tatsuki said. "It's just trapped with nowhere to go and all it can do is try to get out. This must be how you felt when watching it. It's weak and helpless with no way of defending itself against someone who can destroy it in an instant. That hollow must have been so small and insignificant to you."

"You're being to compassionate." Yoruichi said sternly. "That can easily get you killed if you're not careful."

"You're the one that made me realize all this stuff last night." Tatsuki said. "It was because you brought me to that spot that this pup is here right now."

"You could have killed it too or you could have just scared off the mother." Yoruichi said. "You never had to kill it."

"It attacked me and I reacted. Defending myself was the only thing going through my mind at the time." Tatsuki said. "It's because of that that when this war is over I'm done with this stuff. I don't want to cause anyone or anything else suffering. I won't be using my zanpakutou anymore no matter how much stronger I could become."

Yoruichi watched her quietly for a moment before saying, "That's probably for the best."

Tatsuki was taken aback by her acceptance when she expected a comment on it or any sort of joke but she seemed almost grateful for this decision. "You don't care?"

"I'm happy." Yoruichi replied. "You're still young and you shouldn't have to sacrifice so much for the sake of those that can easily fend for themselves."

Tatsuki smiled weakly at the undertone way of saying that Orihime was fine without her putting herself in danger. She was grateful that no name was said because it was no longer a good time for that weakness since they were almost out of time. Both their weaknesses would be forgotten the moment Tatsuki drew her blade. After that they would have to be serious and any distractions they had would be fatal even in training. Tatsuki had no doubt about the seriousness of this even if she doubted Yoruichi would seriously kill her she knew others would and that this next fight would mimic that.

"You know, you've been really compassionate as well." Tatsuki said. "There were many times you could have killed me or turned me away but you never did. There were even times you looked out for me."

"That tanuki to you is what you are to me." Yoruichi said. "It's my fault that you're in this situation and I regret bringing you here so I'm doing what I can to keep you safe. I'm assuming that's how you feel about the pup of course."

"Yeah," Tatsuki said distantly. "But if it weren't for you I might be in an even worse spot then I am now. We both know my powers would have destroyed me so even with what's happening I'm still very grateful to you."

"I never should have given you the option of participating in the war or even spoken to you about it." Yoruichi said. "I should have only shown you control."

"But then I'd be outraged about not being able to do anything to help." Tatsuki said with a smirk.

"That's true." Yoruichi said distantly and met her eyes where her voice became stern. "Shall we begin?"

Tatsuki looked over at her with determination and nodded before they both took off with flash step. Yoruichi led her farther into the area then she had ever been and didn't come to a stop for a long time. When they did they were in a rocky quarry with plenty of places to hide and plenty of places to get the high ground. They were a good distance away from one another and each held high ground. Yoruichi was armed this time with a katana that was on her waist but her stance was that of hand to hand combat. Tatsuki's stance was similar and she was a little eager to fight hand to hand at her current speed but had yet to fight that way since she had to strengthen her bond with her zanpakutou but since Yoruichi was armed with her own zanpakutou she knew to wait before unsheathing her own zanpakutou

They remained still while they each waited for the other to make their move. Though Tatsuki was eager to test how strong and fast she had become she was still cautious. She put her passive attitude aside with a deep breath and shifted her stance a little to make it easier to launch herself at Yoruichi when the time was right. Tatsuki would wait for Yoruichi to make her move and until then it was a test of patience that she would oblige to without complaint since she knew she would have to be patient in finding a weakness against Aizen so she would have to try everything she could to find one and expose it properly without putting herself at much risk and that was just how this fight would be.

Her eyes widened a little when she noticed a slight haze in Yoruichi's movement and without thought she jumped back. When her foot left the rock she was on Yoruichi appeared and shattered the rock with a single bare handed attack before she went after Tatsuki without hesitation. When she came close Tatsuki ignored her shock and defended herself the most that she could against the attacks that had increased tenfold in strength from their last training session. No matter the increase of strength Tatsuki was still able to comprehend Yoruichi's moves and was able to block them though her armor was cracking under the force of her punches and kicks.

Tatsuki could only retreat against Yoruichi now and she couldn't find any opportunity to turn the tide to take the offence. All she could do was defend herself and retreat, which was likely why she was brought to a place that could offer her cover but she already knew it was pointless. Yoruichi had already proven that she could destroy any cover that Tatsuki could hide behind and it was already clear that she wouldn't be able to get away long enough to even try to hide from the woman's attacks since they continued restlessly.

A smirk formed on Yoruichi's face, "What's the matter? You used to be so cocky."

Tatsuki didn't respond and only focused on trying to find an opening but found none that wouldn't put her in danger but there was no other way. When she found a small opening in Yoruichi's attack she went for it only to get a punch right to the stomach followed by a crack from her ribs and an unimaginable amount of pain. She wasn't given a chance to pick up her defence again or even catch her breath when Yoruichi grabbed the hem of her robes and threw her down to the ground.

Before she could even hit it or grasp what was going on around her she smashed against a cliff painfully before falling to the ground. She laid there helplessly with tears in her eyes as she couldn't even breathe from the attack made on her. There was no way she could even have a chance in this war or even against this woman unless she somehow and by some fluke found a weakness that she could exploit on Yoruichi and even Aizen. She knew next to nothing of Aizen and the only weakness she had on Yoruichi was her subordinate but she wouldn't sink low enough to speak of her at this time. That was lower than any lowlife could sink and she refused to do that, not to an enemy and certainly not to a friend.

She barely registered Yoruichi walking over to her at a slow pace and hardly heard her speak. The words were spoken but held no meaning to her while Tatsuki slowly picked herself up as she chocked in air so that she could breath. Every movement hurt and blood dripped from her mouth but she wiped it away without care while she stood up and reached for her zanpakutou only to be pinned against the cliff by the neck and lifted off the ground while Yoruichi watched her coldly at arm's length, "You should have done that from the beginning, human."

Tatsuki's eyes widened at the realization that Yoruichi was no longer seeing her as a friend and just an enemy making her realize that even she was holding back now because of her friendship with the woman. She narrowed her eyes and took hold of Yoruichi's arms with a tight grip to prevent her from leaving while she allowed her reiatsu to materialize around her at an intense heat to. She couldn't breathe and she knew that her grip would loosen on its own so until then she would cause as much damage as she could to Yoruichi, while she could.

It wasn't long before she was released and she fell back to the ground but allowed her reiatsu to continue surrounding her so she could to protected herself from the next attack but kept her eyes on Yoruichi to make sure she wasn't about to attack. Yoruichi stood at a safe distance away from the flames while she waited for Tatsuki to recover and begin her own assault. Tatsuki unsheathed her zanpakutou before rising to her feet while Yoruichi threw a knife at her but it was easily knocked aside.

Tatsuki turned to face Yoruichi more while she took up her stance and found that the ground around her had turned to ash from her reiatsu making her smirk and allow it to fade away to provoke Yoruichi into attacking. She did without falter and Tatsuki dodged the attack so Yoruichi's attack made contact with the cliff behind her. Like she had predicted her attack held enough force to destroy it but due to the intensity of her reiatsu there was now a cloud of ashes mixed into the dirt making the woman cough on the mixture giving Tatsuki her first real chance since the fight started.

Tatsuki attacked immediately, cutting through the cloud of dirt but found that her blade reached nothing and Yoruichi's reiatsu completely disappeared. She hid her own and remained in the cloud while doing her best not to cough or have her eyes tear up too much from the ashes. Her defense was raised but nothing happened though she had a feeling she knew what would happen next. The moment she lightened up on her defence Yoruichi would attack and take her down with ease. She no longer doubted that she could be killed long before she even reached for her zanpakutou but she hadn't known the extent of anyone's power. Even now, she was likely to weak to protect Orihime and that thought was saddening for her but she was at ease with the recent knowledge of Orihime being strong enough to protect herself against the type of opponents she fought and any hollow that came here.

The ash began to settle around her so she took in a deep breath and enjoyed the fresh air for a moment before blocking a knife being thrown at her from the side. She didn't bother looking in the direction that the knife had been thrown since she already knew well enough that Yoruichi was no longer there so instead she focused on even the smallest traces of reiatsu to try and track her. It wasn't long before she found the faintest of pulses and went after it at her fastest pace and soon found Yoruichi on the move through the rocks so she followed.

Tatsuki took the high ground to use the tops of the rocks and cliffs to launch herself more to get a small advantage. Each time her foot touched the rock it left behind a scorch mark from her reiatsu but none of it was able to follow her because she never pulled out of flash step. It wasn't long before she was overtaking Yoruichi and leaping at her catching her off guard as she came to a stop to avoid the attack. Now the woman was on the defense and Tatsuki refused to let up on her attacks even in the slightest to allow her to get the upper hand. Once she did then Tatsuki wouldn't be able to get it back and the fight would end quickly.

Yoruichi dodged one of Tatsuki's attacks before using flash step to get away making Tatsuki jump back to put additional distance between them. Tatsuki looked around frantically while she panted for breath from moving so quickly without letting up for as long as she had, it wasn't very long but she had pushed herself more than she had before. There was no movement and to trace of reiatsu making her nervous while her breath slowed in the calm moment that she had. A small flash of reiatsu in the distance made her tense up as she felt a presence behind her making her glance over to find Yoruichi behind her with her zanpakutou unsheathed.

Tatsuki's eyes widened and she barely had time to dodge the attack. Yoruichi's zanpakutou ran through her kosode cleanly just under her breasts. She forced the blade away so she couldn't be harmed by it but in doing so ripped her kosode open making the torn cloth fall open while the lower parts were only held by her sash now and the upper part was only held by her shoulders. Tatsuki ignored it and thrust her sword at Yoruichi but it was easily avoided. Their swords clashed together and the flames on Tatsuki's zanpakutou lashed out at Yoruichi's in a threatening manner but neither let up in their attack.

The two battled each other with their reiatsu while it began to materialize around both of them. The intensity of Yoruichi's reiatsu far surpassed Tatsuki's but the heat of the girl's was equally dangerous because she fed it with her anger and determination, even her need to get stronger could be felt in the heat of the flames. In this fight she didn't ignore the urge and she knew that any strength she could gain in this fight would be necessary in the next one and possibly even the one after that but she would hold no fear of this. If she could handle herself in this fight she didn't have to worry about anything else, not that Yoruichi was giving her much of a chance of doing that.

Tatsuki forced Yoruichi's blade back while she brought her blades away from the other while calling out for her shikai. The flames covered her zanpakutou and arms immediately making Yoruichi take a defensive stance since she already knew not to underestimate Tatsuki's shikai and she also knew that Tatsuki could still lose control at any moment when it was used since the strain it put on her was far too great but telling her this would be useless and her shikai gave her a better chance at survival so its use couldn't be looked at with fear and uncertainty otherwise she would surely lose control. It was this uncertainty that had made her lose control the day before and it could not be allowed to happen again. Yoruichi would take every step necessary and possible to assure that it wouldn't.

Tatsuki attacked the woman without hesitation and when their blades met the flames lashed out even more violently when it neared flesh. Yoruichi was unable to stop any attack with her hand since it would be seared long before there was contact with the blade and any knife she had on her would shatter like nothing and her hand would still be seared by the heat alone and the flames would more than likely lash out to her hand. With every strike she had to dodge she felt the heat of her shikai and found it that the heat had increased from the last time it was used informing her that there was indeed no holding back in the girl while she fought with everything that she had.

Yoruichi was forced to stay on the defense now knowing that any attack made could be blocked leaving her wide open for a possible fatal attack, which would only be made worse by the flames. This fight was becoming very dangerous for both of them assuring Yoruichi that Tatsuki at least had a chance at surviving the war if she didn't encounter Aizen or a majority of the espada. If she were to fight a lower class espada then she had no doubt that the girl would not only survive but also win against it so long as Orihime wasn't close by and in danger. If Orihime was nearby then Tatsuki's chances of survival slimmed dramatically since she would do whatever was in her power to protect the girl even if it meant taking a fatal blow.

Tatsuki swung her zanpakutou down making Yoruichi block it before swinging her other zanpakutou upwards catching the woman off guard. Yoruichi jumped away just barely avoiding a very fatal wound that cut through her torso from being even worse. The pain from the wound was unimaginable and the flames cut her more than the blade itself. Her flesh burned before the blade even touched her and the flame seared it shut and prevented bloodshed but boiled her blood inside her body resulting in even more blood loss. When the blade left her the cloth of her jacket continued to burn and melt from the fire making her remove it leaving only the tight shirt underneath that was more durable than her jacket and didn't catch fire.

She refrained from touching her wound though it felt like it was still on fire she knew it wasn't so she tried to put distance between her and Tatsuki but she was refused with the girl continuing on her attack. Yoruichi focused purely on defense now knowing that if she received another wound could be fatal since her blood flow was halted from the wound and had nowhere to go putting plenty of strain on her body. She could already feel her body slowly shutting down since her body wasn't able to operate properly. She was grateful that Tatsuki hadn't managed to achieve bankai because the flame of that would surely be devastating and more than either of them could handle. Tatsuki's bankai could very well kill her upon release.

Yoruichi used flash step to escape Tatsuki's assault knowing that the girl could keep up fairly well if she pushed herself past her limitations with the technique. She went far beyond Tatsuki's reach and came to a stop and collapsed against a cliff knowing that she would only have a moment to calm herself. She glanced down at the wound she had received knowing that if this was left untreated it would kill her soon. At this point using her own shikai would put too much strain on her already weakened body so she would have to use another technique that would also drain her completely but it was all she had now in forms of attack since her reiatsu that would surround her arm would protect her from the flames.

When she concluded the means of her next attack she noticed that Tatsuki had come to a stop a few feet away from her and watched the woman with cold eyes with the flames of her shikai covering her whole arms. Her guard was relaxed while she stood there watching the woman awaiting her next move patiently before she struck. A smirk formed on Yoruichi's face while she got off the wall and walked forward shifting her zanpakutou to her less dominate hand. When she came to a stop she raised her arm straight out at her side and let her reiatsu formed around her in an explosion but Tatsuki remained unfazed by this or even Yoruichi's words, "I hadn't expected that I would have to use this against you. I'm impressed that you've become so strong without me even realizing it."

Tatsuki brought up her guard respectfully instead of taunting the woman into attacking her like she would have done against a hollow or any enemy she fought. Throughout the whole fight each fought the other with only respect. The small taunt that Yoruichi had spoken towards the beginning of the fight was to make Tatsuki fight to her full potential and she had done that without question or complaint the moment she realized that she had been holding back. The two held the others eyes for a moment before attacking the other while using flash step to attack the other faster to end this fight before it carried on any longer since the strain on both of them was very high and very visible.

Tatsuki swung her sword but Yoruichi caught it with her hand and used her zanpakutou to attack but it was blocked easily by Tatsuki's other blade. She smirked at the woman knowing that they were at a standstill where neither of them could attack the other now without surpassing their limits and by doing so they would become stronger. This fight would be drawn out as much as possible on her part to allow herself to get stronger as her greed for strength was returning to her but there was nothing fearful about it. She found joy in the feeling of being near this woman's equal in battle even though to reach that she had far surpassed her own limit and pushed herself far more than she should have.

They held the other for a moment before jumping away only to attack again the instant their feet touched the ground. Each attack held the same result but it didn't matter to them now because they needed to push themselves to find a winner of the fight though they were both aware of who was stronger but with the wound Yoruichi had received her strength meant almost nothing now. The two lashed out at each other without much pause to catch their breath and with each attack they neared their breaking point in the fight, Yoruichi's body was shutting down rapidly on her while the flame of Tatsuki's shikai spread to her torso and began to burn her arms and the white flames began to snake up it slowly. Neither one of them announced their tire and both knew it was unnecessary, not because they knew the other couldn't continue but because they knew the fight was at its close with each attack became more desperate than the last.

They lunged at each other again without care for their tire but before they could begin their attack Tatsuki's shikai died leaving her defenceless against Yoruichi's attack but she too had reached her breaking point and her reiatsu dispersed. They were too close to each other to pull out of flash step and stop so they shifted themselves so that they would simply pass one another and collapse to the side. Both hit the ground hard and did little to move for a long time while they panted excessively in their tire. A proud smile formed on Tatsuki's face and she weakly said, "That felt good."

There was no response making her force herself up and looked over at the woman and sheathed her zanpakutou while she stumbled over to the woman and found her eyes were distant and her breathing was clearly pained and forced. She hoisted the woman up before struggling to her feet and looked around in hopes of getting her bearing and that she would have enough reiatsu to carry herself and Yoruichi to the hot spring and hopefully save the woman's life. This area wasn't familiar to her in the slightest and the fight had covered such a wide area that she was completely lost.

'_Over here.'_ Honoban's voice called.

Tatsuki looked over and found her zanpakutou spirit not far away calling to her. Without question she went to it but with a small burst of fire he was gone and appeared further away making Tatsuki quicken her pace to keep up but when she got closer to him he only moved further away and soon she was straining herself to use flash step just to keep up with him. In her mind she heard him usher her forth with urgency and encouragement to keep her going. Each moment was painful for her but she pushed on knowing that she didn't have the luxury of taking her time because at any moment Yoruichi could die or she could collapse from exhaustion and either one was an unwelcome scenario.

Honoban led her all the way to the spring even though she had begun to recognize her surroundings she needed to have something to focus on to keep herself going. He came to a stop on the far side while Tatsuki came to a stop by its edge and slowly stepped in with the woman still in her arms. Yoruichi was placed against the edge but by this time her eyes were closed and her breathing was even more pained and distant. Tatsuki collapsed on the edge next to her while holding the woman up with one hand and she felt her submerged hand tingle from the burns she had received from her zanpakutou.

She looked up to see Honoban still watching her in silence. A smile formed on her face while she muttered, "You never said I could reach that."

'_It was unnecessary to speak of what you could achieve because only through perseverance can you achieve it and not through words'_ Honoban stated. _'Whether or not you wish to expand your power is your choice to make but only you can chose to do it and I will not influence your decision on the matter. If you wish to obtain a great strength then you will have to continue pushing yourself. There is little you can do today to gain more strength for your body has reached its limit for today'_

"Yeah, but only physically right?" Tatsuki asked. "If I were to enter my inner world and continue training there could I continue to push myself and get stronger?"

'_I will not go easy on you if you choose to do so.'_ Honoban replied.

"That's fine," Tatsuki said before glancing over at Yoruichi. "If we start now will my grip on her loosen?"

'_I'll keep her from falling.'_ Honoban said. _"Focus only on your opponent all else is just a distraction.'_

Tatsuki nodded and closed her eyes. The world around her fell away instantly and she soon found herself lying in tall grass with a nice breeze that travelled through the cool night. She inhaled deeply with a warm smile and enjoyed the feeling for a moment knowing that once her training began she wouldn't have this opportunity. After a moment she sat up and found Honoban sitting on the rock he normally sat on and watched her in silence. "Sorry about that, I just wanted to enjoy this place for a moment while I could."

He nodded, _'It is wise to take advantage of the moment you had to do so rather than rush into battle without taking in your surroundings.'_

Tatsuki rose to her feet and unsheathed her zanpakutou already knowing that without doing so immediately she could be killed with ease and even here her armor was cracked and about to break while some pieces were destroyed just from Yoruichi's punches. Flames began erupting around Honoban startling Tatsuki since she hadn't expected to fight him but she brought up her guard without hesitation and readied for the attack. She knew that she would be on her own in this fight and he would not help her in any way and he would also know any fault she had in her stance and movements so she would have to be very cautious during this fight.

The flames vanished and Honoban was gone from the rock putting Tatsuki on edge but even here her senses were sharp from all the knives she had had to dodge from Yoruichi. She listened for even the faintest of noises and felt even the smallest traces of reiatsu around her while she took everything into account even the shifting of the grass from the wind because she knew that Honoban could easily hide in it if he chose to. She kept on her toes in case of any form of an attack knowing that Honoban could manipulate the surroundings of this field if he wanted to.

She heard some shuffling in the grass behind her and turned while swinging her blade as Honoban leapt out at her but he simply landed on the blade with his teeth bared at her before attempting to lunge at her but Tatsuki lowered her arm to deny supporting him. Honoban fell lightly to the ground and Tatsuki jumped back and away from him to put some distance between them while he stayed his ground, _'Do not hold back against me or your life is forfeit.'_

Tatsuki nodded and began her own attacks against Honoban and she began to look at him as an enemy rather than a friend just as she had done against Yoruichi but like her mentor she felt regret in doing so. Honoban attacked as well and there was no restrain between either of them even though Tatsuki didn't use her shikai just yet because she knew that she didn't need it at this moment but when it became necessary she would use it. If she used it too soon she may use up too much energy and tire herself out before the fight was over and that could be too costly if it put her off guard. She was lucky against Yoruichi since they had both tired themselves at the same time and collapsed. If they hadn't tired themselves out like that then there was a good chance one of them could have died.

The two went at each other without restraint for the others safety since she doubted that Honoban could be killed and that her body was next to Yoruichi's so when she woke up she knew that her body would be taken care of and with her body in the spring any wound that she could receive would be treated by the water or the woman since she doubted that any wound she received would be left untreated. Tatsuki was assured of her safety but continued to think of this as a fight of life or death. She knew that all the fights to come would be life and death even if she were to survive the war and were to just train with Yoruichi again, she knew the stakes would be much higher than the small sessions that were nothing more than games now.

_***Note;**__ Tatsuki is not stronger than Yoruichi she just got lucky with her attack and realistically the body would shut down if the blood flow was not only cut off but stopped no matter how strong the person is… and fight scenes are a pain to write._


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer::I own nothing but half the idea. lol**

**Chapter 13: Her role**

Tatsuki slowly opened her eyes and found herself in a small room that she knew she had been in before and knew without looking that it was Yoruichi's room. She sat up slowly with an aching body and no grasp of time so she looked around the room and found it empty. On a small table were her robes and armor that differed from what she had before along with her zanpakutou and a note. She rubbed her face to shake off her tire while she walked over and picked up the note half expecting it to inform her of some minor task that she had to do for her training but her hand fell from her face and her heart sank when she found that it wasn't that at all.

Instead it stated that the war had started and she had been left behind to look after Karakura due to her exhaustion and the wounds she had received during her final training in her inner world. She was devastated at knowing that after all the training and accomplishments and even pushing herself past her limit again and again she was left behind like all she had done was for nothing. A sob formed in her throat at knowing that even in the end she would be useless to everyone since she had no way of knowing where the war was taking place or even how to get there.

Tatsuki glanced at the armor and robes and put the note aside then began undressing from the light shitagi she had been changed into and set it aside before putting on the armor. She stopped when she found that the burns from her shikai had scarred her hands and wrists. She had never truly acknowledged just how dangerous her shikai was even to herself. What a fool she had been to believe that her powers would grant her what she wanted them to like it was her right to use them as she wished for as long as she wanted to. There were great consequences to the use of her powers and she had never used them past her limit the way she had the day before and now she wore the consequence as a constant reminder of the dangers on her hands. It was a lesson that she would not forget.

She finished getting dressed and slid her zanpakutou under her sash before picking up the note and rescanning it before flipping it over to find more details on her current task. There was a chance that Aizen could get past the soul reapers and enter Karakura so she had been left as a type of final defence to give others a chance to catch up and offer her support while she protected the humans here while they were left in a hibernated state. Tatsuki put the note back on the table and looked to the door with determination before leaving the room and walking through the shop without pause or thought of looking for anyone since she couldn't sense any form of reiatsu anywhere in Karakura.

When she left the shop she closed the doors and locked them before continued on down the street without looking back. She shifted the armor on her chest uncomfortably since she wasn't used to wearing armor there but she knew it could save her life if it was really durable but knowing Urahara and Yoruichi it would likely be very durable and stronger than any that could be forged by any blacksmith considering how durable the other armor she used had been.

The sight of people lying around the streets unconscious was very disturbing for her and even more so when she found a small child lying in the middle of the street. She rushed over to the child and picked him up then carried him over to the side walk and sat him against a fence before continuing down to the center of town before a small thought of opportunity came to mind. This was likely going to be the only time she could openly run around and not have to hide her powers while in the street.

A smirk formed on her face and she allowed her reiatsu to form around her lower legs before she jumped into the air and felt natural wind on her face while the sun shone brightly in the early hours of the day. This feeling was bliss for her and she decided to travel around like this for a while and enjoy the small feeling of open freedom from gravity. She soared high above the street with a smile on her face even with the knowledge that this could come crashing down around her at any minute if the war took a bad turn for the soul reapers but at this moment she took Honoban's advice and enjoyed herself knowing that it may be the last chance she had to do so and she wanted to enjoy herself a little before taking her task seriously.

When she neared the center of town she saw some movement that terrified her since she had been completely open about her presence instead of hiding it like she should have done and could have given herself away to an enemy if there was one here. She readied herself for the fight then used flash step to confront them upfront rather than trying to attack them by surprise but when she came to a stop she was surprised to find that it was only Keigo who he nervously looked around the street.

When he saw her standing behind him he jumped away in surprise stuttering mostly nonsense, "W-where did… H-how? I knew you were involved in this."

"Shut up, Keigo." Tatsuki said with irritation while she walked over to him. "You're not supposed to be awake."

"You know what's going on then?" He asked.

"Not really." Tatsuki admitted. "But you shouldn't be walking around right now. I thought you were an enemy when I first saw you and almost attacked you. Go home so I don't make the mistake again because I might kill you next time."

"I thought you samurais were supposed to be here protecting everyone." Keigo said. "You should have told me how to join them, I would have helped."

"You're not able to Keigo." Tatsuki said. "You don't have the ability."

"I can see ghosts just as well as you can so don't start that." Keigo said. "I'm more than capable of doing it."

"Then after all this is over then maybe you can go through all the training it takes to even get an application." Tatsuki said mockingly.

"Ha, training is no problem." Keigo said with a smirk. "I'm already fit beyond belief. Show me where to sign up and they'll praise my skills."

Tatsuki rolled her eyes at his stupidity before she walked away from him, "I've got work to do, go home and play make believe there."

"I'm not making it up." Keigo said cockily and ran after her. "I'm just as good as you if not better. Give me a sword, you don't need two."

He reached for one of her blades and Tatsuki turned to look at him allowing her reiatsu to materialize around her threateningly making him jump back in fear of it, "Don't you dare ever touch my zanpakutou, even if I'm unarmed and you intend to get it for me."

Her reiatsu died down as she continued down the street but again he just followed her, "Why are you so protective of it?"

"Because Honoban is mine and no one else's." Tatsuki said simply. "I've trained with it since I got it and I'm not about to let someone else try and use it. I don't want anything to interfere with our bond."

"You have a bond with your swords?" Keigo asked skeptically.

"It's not just a sword, Keigo." Tatsuki said. "It's a zanpakutou and inside it and me is its spirit. We're connected and with that connection I'm able to stand here as I am now and I'm able to do what I have to do to insure the safety of everyone in Karakura. You don't have this ability otherwise you likely would have been approached like I was and I'm glad you weren't because if you were I probably wouldn't have been able to become as strong as I am now because Yoruichi would have had to train you too and she'd be even more strained then she already is."

"You sound really concerned about her." He said with a smirk. "Is there anything going on between you two?"

"No, she's my mentor and I respect her more than anyone else I know." Tatsuki stated. "Besides we both have someone we like."

"I had no idea you felt that way." Keigo said. "But you're not my type."

"Shut up, Keigo." Tatsuki said bluntly. "I don't like you at all. It's someone else."

"Oh someone I know?" Keigo asked with an amused smile.

"Shut up." Tatsuki said angrily.

"So that's a yes then." Keigo asked with a goofy grin on his face. "So who is it?"

"I'm warning you to knock it off." Tatsuki said angrily. "You don't want to piss me off right now."

"Why not?" Keigo asked.

"Because I can easily kill you right now even without using my zanpakutou." Tatsuki simply stated.

He gave her a doubtful look while they turned down a street, finding even more unconscious bodies lying around on the sidewalks. There were even people sitting idly in their cars that had just stopped on their own, no accidents and no swerves. They had all just stopped as if time stood still and the people just fell into a coma like sleep that they couldn't be woken from. There was no sign of injury in any of them as if they had all just stopped what they were doing and laid down and lost consciousness. The sight of them gave Tatsuki an eerie feeling but she said nothing on it since she was unwilling to hear Keigo comment on it.

"This is really weird." Keigo said and crouched down next to a teenager that attended Karakura high school with them. "Do you think everyone is like this?"

"Yeah," Tatsuki said slowly while she too another look around. "From the looks of it I was supposed to be the only one conscious and aware of what's going to happen."

"What do you mean?" Keigo asked.

"There's a war going on right now between soul reapers and hollows." Tatsuki said. "There was a chance that it would spill into Karakura so I was appointed to take care of any hollow that comes here since there's no one here to protect anyone. I don't mind being left behind because this is all I can do for everyone now. I'm not strong enough to be on the front lines."

Her last sentence was spoken with a distant anger while she looked at her hands for a moment before clenching her fists with determination to make it through this not only for Orihime but for others as well because she wasn't here and hadn't been for a while now so all she could do was make sure that there was a home for her to come back to and that everyone else here would have a home and a life to live. That was all she could do so she was left to do that while Yoruichi, Urahara, and Tessai went without her but she hadn't been completely left behind since she was given her own duties.

The two continued on without conversation and found even more people that were unconscious. Some they recognized others they didn't but they didn't move anyone or try to wake them. When they reached a side street Tatsuki saw some movement making her stop and look over to see a student from Karakura high that she recognized. She watched the girl slowly sit up and glance around at a loss making Tatsuki rush over to her. Keigo had noticed what was going on and hurried over as well. Tatsuki reached Chizuru as she found bodies lying around unmoving around her.

Before she could freak out Tatsuki placed a hand on her shoulder, "Hey, are you alright?"

Chizuru looked over her with a panicked expression, "What's going on? Is everyone dead?"

"No, it's nothing like that." Tatsuki said. "It's a little hard to explain but there's a war going on that might spill into Karakura so this happened as a precaution."

"And what's 'this'?" Chizuru asked.

"I don't know." Tatsuki admitted. "I wasn't given an actual explanation on it all I know is everything is in a hibernating state until the danger passes. Until that time all we can do is wait and hope things work out and no hollows get into Karakura."

"Then what are you going to do?" Keigo asked. "Do you expect to fight those things on your own?"

"All I can do is give it all I've got and hope Yoruichi or someone comes before it's too late." Tatsuki said while she helped Chizuru to her feet and received a concerned look for their condition. "I already know I'm not strong enough to do anything more than that. I'm sorry but the chances are this is going to be the last time we talk."

"Are you saying that you're going to be killed?" Chizuru asked with an upset and sadden tone.

"I'm hoping not but the chances of my survival are slim." Tatsuki said. "I'm on my own here and there's no way for me to get anyone's help. That being said if anything happens or I tell you to get out of here run and don't look back. Don't dare stop or come back just go as far as you can then keep going."

"This is why you've been gone and out of it lately isn't it?" Chizuru asked with worry. "You've been expecting this to happen."

"Dreading it and taking it too lightly, actually." Tatsuki said with a slight smirk. "I didn't realize how dangerous things were really going to be until a couple nights ago when I was caught off guard but my eyes were really opened yesterday when I had a real fight against my mentor. I got lucky against her and evened out the playing field but even then I didn't win against her but we both almost died. When I woke up this morning I realized that even my own zanpakutou is powerful enough to kill me and I don't have as much control over it as I had originally thought.

"It's fire based and it's shikai burned me when I used it for too long." Tatsuki admitted as she looked at the scars on her hands. "If what I have to fight doesn't kill me than my shikai might just from over use and I can still feel how stiff and sore I am. I don't know how long I'll be able to maintain it today when I have to use it."

She got concerned looks from both of them so she allowed her hands to fall to her sides and avoided their eyes before she walked down the street but they followed without pause. When they caught up Chizuru said, "I don't know what this war is about but this doesn't seem to have anything to do with you so why do this?"

"Because I have to." Tatsuki said. "I made a promise to give my all for the sake of everyone here and I plan to stick to it."

"You always do when you make promises but this is different." Chizuru said. "This could cost you your life."

"That's fine." Tatsuki said distantly. "When I left the shop I stayed at last night and looked around I knew this would be my last day alive. I don't intend to just roll over and die but I know I will in the end. Even so I plan on giving everything I've got until my last breath."

"Then you're an idiot." Chizuru said bluntly. "This isn't your war and all you're going to accomplish with your death is hurting the people you care about most."

Tatsuki remained silent and she did everything she could to keep her mind away from Orihime so she could keep her focus with what was to come. She mentally repeated her resolve and her acceptance of what was to come. It wasn't a simple thing to do while Chizuru continued to tread on a dangerous topic, "Think about it, Tatsuki. Think about everyone and everything you're leaving behind, you're family, friends, school, and even you're life. You're just going to throw that all away for others like you have nothing that you're going to lose."

"I've already lost it all." Tatsuki said angrily and she balled her hands into fists. "Aizen already took everything that matters away from me so don't you dare say that I have nothing to do with this because I do. The past week I've been pushing myself just for this day to make Aizen pay for what he did so there's no way in hell I'm going to just walk away. If I did and he manages to come here then everyone here could die. For me to walk out now wouldn't just be cowardice it would be completely selfish and I won't condemn others."

She only had a short moment to see Chizuru's taken aback look before she used flash step to take off and leave them behind. She didn't go very far away from them but she went far enough that they wouldn't be able to find her and even if they did they couldn't get onto the roof of the nearby grocery store to continue hassling her on her decision. It had been made already and she wouldn't change it even if she did want to live. Tatsuki collapsed against the stores sign with quivered breathing while thoughts of Orihime flooded her mind and she knew that she would never see her beloved best friend ever again making tears run silently down her cheeks.

When she wiped them away her tears only got worse when she felt the scarred flesh of her hands on her cheeks. At the time that she had burned her hands she was so focused on fighting Yoruichi that she hadn't paid any attention to the strain on her body nor did she even really notice the severity of the burns that stretched up her arms to her elbows and a little past that as well. Even if she did survive this she would have these second degree burns all her life as a constant reminder of how far she had pushed herself for this moment knowing that in the end she would likely die. All she wanted at this moment was to see Orihime's smiling face but more than that she wanted to hold the girl and tell her how she really felt knowing that it would be her last chance. Even if she were to get rejected completely she wouldn't mind because she knew it didn't matter anymore.

She looked at her hands making her tears worsen so she clutched her shoulders and hunched forward and found fear of facing Aizen. It wouldn't be good if she went at him with her current emotional state since she would easily be cut down before she could even do anything against him. If she could get lucky again and get at least one good wound on him like she had against Yoruichi she would actually have a chance against him or at least she hoped that she would. If she could manage to get lucky then she would increase the chances of her survival and the survival of others. If she were really lucky she'd survive long enough for others to arrive and help her and possibly even save her life but she couldn't expect it or put too much thought into it for her own sake.

Tatsuki allowed herself to cry out her tears and mourn for her coming death before she stood and walked to the edge of the roof and looked out at the street where she had last seen Chizuru and Keigo and found that they had left already. She hoped that they were still together at least to make finding them and keeping them safe easier. Leaving them was a mistake that she had realized amidst her tears but she couldn't show weakness to even them and especially not with what was to come. She leapt off the building and took off through the air but kept her reiatsu concealed to others that could sense it in case an enemy did make it past the soul reapers and entered Karakura.

It didn't take her long to find them but when she did she found that yet another person had woken up and he too wore a Karakura high uniform. She watched them in the air for a moment and wondered what she should even say to them and why they were all in her class. Her curiosity was soon answered when she realized that two were friends with Ichigo while the third was friends with her and Orihime and if she had been affected by Ichigo's reiatsu than those three had been also making them more prone to wake up and even others that were close to him. That meant everyone he interacted with regularly could wake up and start wandering around and possibly be in danger.

This possibility concerned her since she knew that plenty of people could be put in danger if Aizen did make it into Karakura. Tatsuki allowed herself to be known to the others when she landed close to them causing a couple startled looks from all but Keigo because he had been able to see soul reapers for a while so this came as no surprise to him though he openly envied it, "I didn't know you could fly too. That's so unfair, I want to be one of you samurais too."

"How many times do I have to tell you that you can't become a soul reaper before you understand?" Tatsuki asked angrily. "I'm not even really one of them, I just have reiatsu and a zanpakutou and nothing else. I'm still human and I have no kidou abilities. If you really want to be a soul reaper then you have to be dead."

"Is that what you're trying to accomplish with this then?" Chizuru asked angrily.

"No," Tatsuki said. "I'm just trying to make sure no one dies that doesn't have to."

"So what's going on exactly, Tatsuki?" Mizuru asked. "So far you're the only one that really knows what's going on around here."

"I really don't want to explain this again." Tatsuki said with annoyance. "I don't really know all that much about this. I never asked about it because I thought things would be different. Nothing is the way I thought it would be and I never focused on this part of the war. All I cared about was getting stronger for her."

"Her?" Mizuru asked curiously.

"It's nothing." Tatsuki said immediately while mentally hitting herself on the head for letting it slip.

"Finally getting a bit more courageous?" Chizuru asked with a smile getting the others attention. "It's about time you realized it to. I was getting tired of your daft jealousy."

"What are you talking about?" Tatsuki asked while doing her best to feign ignorance.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about." Chizuru said. "Did you honestly think I didn't notice the glances? I've been trying to get you to confess for ages but you were too daft to step up and claim her for yourself so I had to go beyond myself to try and force you to do it."

Tatsuki watched her with disbelief for her words and continued her pointless denial, "Chizuru, I don't know what you're talking about."

"I'm talking about the person you're head over heels in love with." Chizuru said.

"Just shut up with that, I have enough to worry about without you messing with me." Tatsuki said, hoping to change the subject quickly. "You all need to go somewhere safe. I can't fight Aizen and protect you at the same time. I'm not strong enough for that."

"Where are we supposed to go?" Mizuru asked.

"Just leave Karakura for a while." Tatsuki said. "I don't think there will be any trains so you'll have to leave by foot."

"Alright we'll go." Chizuru said. "But look, I don't know who this Aizen guy is but if he's as powerful as you say he is then don't do anything reckless and stupid. I know why you disappeared and I know why you're doing this. Just because you're doing this for her doesn't mean you should throw away your life. If you really want to protect her then protect yourself because if you die she'll be devastated and there's no way in hell that anyone can put the person they're in love with through that and really claim to love them."

Tatsuki looked at Chizuru with wide eyes and failed to feign ignorance convincingly, "What are you talking about?"

"You know damned well what I'm talking about." Chizuru said angrily. "I'm really sick of you staying quiet about it too. So you better survive this and start letting up on it because you're so cautious about your own feelings that you never noticed hers."

"What are you saying?" Tatsuki asked.

"Orihime likes you too." Chizuru said getting the others attention. "But if you don't come back from this I'm taking her for myself. It doesn't matter that I don't care for her that way."

"If you don't then why are you all over her every time you see her?" Tatsuki asked in shock.

"I did it hoping that you would get pissed off enough to tell me to stay away from your girl." Chizuru said with a smirk. "You were always too uptight to say it though."

"Does everyone else know about this too?" Tatsuki asked.

"None of them were even close to noticing it." Chizuru said. "But they don't recognize the heated looks that you give her and it's probably a good thing Orihime doesn't figure them out either."

A blush burned Tatsuki's face making her look her away from them and wonder how often she actually gave Orihime a heated glance and how often she actually noticed giving her the look. It was something she didn't always notice doing and the fact that it was noticed by someone else was rather embarrassing to her. She had no idea her feelings were even that obvious to the people around her despite how easily Yoruichi had found out about it but she felt that she could talk to the woman about those things easier than she could with anyone else.

"I should get going." Tatsuki turned to leave but stopped herself and looked back at them, "If I don't make it back tell Orihime-"

She was cut off when she felt an overwhelming reiatsu cover the town and she felt as though it was crushing her while the others fell to the ground under it. Her body felt heavy but she had become accustomed to strong reiatsu from Yoruichi putting her under her own at times. The pressure on her body was almost equal to that of the weights making her appreciate them more since she felt accustomed to it but she knew that she would be just as restrained now like she had been with the weights.

Tatsuki traced the reiatsu and found the source wasn't far away. It slowly faded away and Tatsuki ran to her friends to see if they were alright only to find them panting in a cold sweat. She couldn't leave them there but at the same time she knew that if she stayed Aizen would only get closer to them and the danger they faced would be greater. "You three have to get out of here now. I know it's hard to move but you have to do it. I'll keep him busy, get moving."

She looked down the street and saw two men in white robes walking towards her and she knew that they were already in grave danger. Tatsuki walked forward and unsheathed her zanpakutou, "Honoban, I need to borrow as much strength as you're willing to give me."

Her body began feeling lighter and she knew strength was being granted to her and she would not waste it with walking to her enemy nor would she hold back. If she did it would mean death and the only ones that would die here were her enemies. Aizen took Orihime away from her and there was no telling what she had gone through and what abuse she may have been dealt but she would not be forgiving. She couldn't forgive anyone that dared harm Orihime but she had never considered going far enough to take a life before but now was not the time for moral battles. If she did not kill them then she would be killed, Yoruichi taught her that in their final battle.

"Yakimasu Honoban." Tatsuki said calmly.

The flames enveloped her blade and her arms before she attacked Aizen using flash step. He didn't even try to move away but only grabbed her sword with his bare hand and smirked, "Are you all that's left to try and stop me? How pathetic."

She narrowed her eyes and thrust her second blade at him but he moved aside and threw her away. Tatsuki flew back but caught herself not far away and glared at where Aizen had been only to see the other man standing there looking back at her with a wide grin. Her eyes widened when she felt the presence behind her just before she felt a blade pierce through her shoulder from behind. It was removed swiftly and she collapsed but did not fall all the way to the ground. Aizen walked back to the other man, whose smile seemed to widen even more, "My, for such a weak child she did do some damage."

Tatsuki looked at Aizen's hand curiously and found that it was smoking and the burnt flesh was visible to her. The sight alone told her she could win against him. She pushed herself to her feet and brought up her guard, "Don't you turn your back on me you bastard."

He continued on without care for her words enraging her even more making her attack him again. She felt herself being grabbed from behind and forced away by a woman that blocked an attack she couldn't even see coming. "Don't be so reckless when attacking an enemy."

She looked up at the woman and from the clothes alone, though beat up, she knew this was a soul reaper. Tatsuki got to her feet while Aizen jumped back to avoid another attack from her. She stood beside the woman with her guard raised to keep fighting. The woman glanced at her, "It would be better if you stayed out of this, kid."

"No, I trained for this moment." Tatsuki said. "Yoruichi pushed me just so I could stand up to this bastard."

"Shihouin Yoruichi?" The woman asked and Tatsuki nodded. "Then it wouldn't be fair to underestimate you and from the looks of Aizen's hand you're a lot stronger than you appear."

Tatsuki smirked at the acknowledgement and felt the need to brag about her achievements but knew it wasn't the time for any of that, "Do you have a strategy?"

"I have a personal fight with Gin." She said.

"That's fine with me." Tatsuki said. "I have a personal fight with Aizen. I know what I have to do so you don't have to worry about me."

Tatsuki attacked Aizen with flash step again and was careful to conceal one attack so that when he blocked her initial attack the second got through but do to its concealment it wasn't fatal. He winced in pain from the heat of the flames and forced her away. She hit the ground and used flash step to move again knowing that standing still was asking for death. Constantly using flash step was an easy way for her to tire herself out but she knew it was her best chance to kill him so she would push herself like she was so accustomed to doing.

Despite moving with flash step Aizen was still able to catch her but not off guard and she blocked his attack and forced his blade aside to strike at him but he caught her sword and swung his sword up across her torso from hip to opposite shoulder. Her eyes widened at the pain and her uselessness against Aizen. "You're slow."

Tatsuki fell to the ground and felt everything fading around her. Her failure was all that entered her mind while she lay dying on the street where so many people just slept carelessly in a coma with no idea of what was happening or what was going to happen now that she had failed. She couldn't even survive more than five minutes against this man that she had hated so much since she learned of his existence. Honoban's voice echoed in her ears urging her to keep fighting against death but she couldn't find the strength in her anymore. She was dying. "I'm sorry."


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer::I own nothing but half the idea. lol**

**Chapter 14: Broken promises**

Tatsuki lay dying on the street and stared up at the blue sky and wondered if there was a possibility that Orihime was looking up at the sky at that very moment wherever she was. Chizuru's words echoed through her head and she knew that Orihime would be devastated when she came back and learned of her death and more than she had original thought knowing that their love for each other was mutual. It pained her already strained heart to know she was going to cause Orihime such pain but then she realised her death would pain many other people and her thoughts turned to Yoruichi and more specifically their last fight against one another. As she thought about it she recalled inflicting a similar wound on the woman and once she recalled that she remember what that injury had done.

"Yoruichi…" She spoke weakly while glancing at her zanpakuto to find the white flames were only barely dancing on her blade now. "Forgive me… Orihime."

She forced her arm up and dragged the side of her blade along her wound to sear it shut, screaming out in pain in the process from the flames. The pain itself almost made her lose consciousness but Honoban kept her awake. Tatsuki panted heavily from the pain she had just inflicted on herself and the heat that was trapped inside her body from it. She winced and forced herself over to pick herself up and keep fighting but got no farther than one foot on the ground before her vision began to blur and she felt tire threatening to take her to a cold dark place. All she could do now was fight it and try to stay awake.

"I was curious about why you chose to fight a god but now I see you are friends with that girl." Aizen said with a smirk. "You don't even have the strength to stand now and you can barely maintain your shikai. If you're the best Yoruichi has to offer it's no wonder I defeated her so easily."

Tatsuki snapped her gaze to him with wide eyes momentarily forgetting her tire with the shock of Yoruichi's defeat then realised that if Aizen was here it was because everyone was defeated and he had not just gotten past them. She thought of the three people that had helped her with her training then everyone else that had been defeated and killed. She may not have known any of them at all but that didn't matter to her, they were still her allies in this war and even if she hadn't met them she still carried the weight of their defeat. Tatsuki brought her gaze back to the ground and knew with her current level of power she had no chance of defeating Aizen. 'Honoban, I need more of your power than I ever did before and I don't care what the cost will be.'

'_This may forfeit your life.'_ Honoban said. _'Are you sure you want to do _that_?'_

'Yeah.' Tatsuki thought. 'I'll die anyways but with _that_ I might actually have a chance to kill him.'

'_Very well then.'_ Honoban replied.

Tatsuki felt all of Honoban's energy and strength fill her and her reiatsu spilled out around her. The flames danced out around her and were out of her control and she knew that in order to do what she had to she had to take control right now. She didn't get to her feet knowing that would take too much out of her right now. Tatsuki closed her eyes and took in a deep breath to clear her mind of everything, every thought, every emotion, every memory, and focused solely on controlling this power. She envisioned the flames inside herself, raging hungrily, and focused on making them smaller until they were small enough to fit in the palm of her hand. At that very moment she knew she had it and opened her eyes to find Aizen watching her with amusement.

She forced herself to her feet and picked up her guard in one swift movement. Aizen smiled at her action but she paid it no mind at all. Her only focus was the small fire in her mind and that was it, everything else was instinct. Tatsuki took in a deep breath to feed the flames inside her a little and said, "Bankai."

The glimmering white flames on her blades sparked brightly and replaced the metal of her blades. This time she took notice to Aizens look of surprise and used it to her advantage while she could. He barely had time to block it and was pushed back by the force and the intense heat of her zanakutou. The heat was very intense that it even caused her straining body to sweat though she barely took the time to notice these things. She swung her zanpakutou again and again forcing Aizen to retreat little by little while he retrieved wounds from her blades. No blood was spilled on his part due to the instant searing of his flesh and every near miss scorched him.

Aizen dodged one of her attacks and forced her to jump back with a swing of his zanpakutou and began his own attacks against her. She blocked each one but never found an opening to attack. There was very little time between each of his attacks leaving her no chance to safely attack or even dodge his zanpakutou. The force of his swings made her block with both of her swords just to keep it from touching her and it soon became apparent that there was no way to protect herself anymore.

Tatsuki attacked at the same time Aizen did. His blade sank into her shoulder but with one blade blocking it she kept it from being more serious than it would have been if she took the attack full force. Her blade was stabbed in his stomach but it wasn't long before he pulled his blade out of her shoulder and kicked her away. She caught her footing and was about to go back to attack him when she felt a blade stab through her body just below her neck before she realised that Aizen was already in front of her holding his blade there.

"I must admit that this was impressive for a human without any soul reaper powers." Aizen said. "But I've toyed with you enough."

He removed the sword and Tatsuki fell to the ground with only the faintest of visions left to show her zanpakutou return to its original state. Then she was left in darkness but the heat of her zanpakutou continued to reside within her for a long time and faded slowly due to its intensity. The heat continued to reside in her for a long time before it was suddenly and abruptly torn away from her and she only felt cold surrounding her. No thoughts ran through her head but she felt conscious of the emptiness surrounding her for a very long time, if it was a long time, she had no way of knowing for sure.

Tatsuki opened her eyes and found only stiffness in everything she did, even her eyes hurt while they opened. She let out a deep breath and felt as though she had been holding it in for a very long time and when she took in air it felt like her first breath. Her gaze wandered around the small room and she found that the ceiling was collapsing and water dripped into the small wooden room from the hole making her wonder just where she had ended up. She didn't sit up to look around out of fear of what pain would spread throughout her body so she took it slowly and moved her fingers and toes first before moving up her body at a slow rate until she worked out the stiffness.

She began to sit up when she heard a door slide open making her look to the man that entered but only found his back to her while he closed the door. When he turned he stopped upon finding her awake and Tatsuki stared at his face with shock written all over her face. "You're awake, that's good news. Is your fever any better? You're still awfully pale."

"Fever?" Tatsuki asked not recalling having one at all but her shock took away most questions she could have at the moment. Looking at this man she knew for a fact that she was dead and since he was not a hollow she could only assume that she was in Soul Society. These things were known to her simply because she knew that this man had died years ago and though she could barely remember the incident she had been attacked by him when he was a hollow. How Sora was in Soul Society was beyond her but she didn't want to ask in case it led to a bad situation.

"Yes, I found you collapsed on the road days ago." Sora replied. "You were burning up so I brought you to my home to take care of you. It's strange though to see a soul reaper here and what's more surprising was that you did not have a zanpakutou with you."

"Honoban," Tatsuki said trying to sense his presence inside her but found he was absent. "He's gone…"

Sore watched her with an odd look before walking to her side and crouching down next to the mat she was on to place his wrist on her forehead to check for a fever. "You're still very warm, are you feeling alright?"

"No," Tatsuki said but forced herself up anyways. "But I need answers and I need to find a soul reaper."

"You should rest until you're better." Sora insisted and tried to force her back down.

"I'm not sick and I'm not actually a soul reaper." Tatsuki said and walked to the door where she stopped and her tone became sad. "I was killed by a man I fought. I need answers on what happened after that."

"The soul reapers won't have answers for you." Sora replied. "Chances are none of them will know."

"They will, the man I fought was Aizen and the soul reapers were fighting him too." Tatsuki said. "If my death meant something they would know."

"Then you will have to go to the Seireitei but you will not be allowed in." Sora replied. "If you are determined to try I will show you where to go."

Tatsuki nodded and Sora rose to lead her to her destination and she followed him. Along the way he introduced himself to her making her wonder if he remembered her at all but she introduced herself as well. While they walked through the streets Tatsuki looked around at all the housing and the people living here and found it strange how poor everyone was and found some angered looks towards her. She didn't understand why they were angry with her or if it was just because of Sora but everyone kept their distance from them and some people went as far as to cross the street just to avoid them. "You'll have to excuse them, no one in this district likes soul reapers much."

"Are soul reapers viewed that poorly?" Tatsuki asked. "I've only met a few so I can't really judge them as a group from that but they mostly kept to themselves except Rukia but that was just because she was friends with a few people."

"The soul reapers that come here tend to be arrogant and rude." Sora said. "They have no respect for us here and even go as far as to assault us if we get in the way. It's shameful but not all soul reapers are like that."

"I'm sure people like that are everywhere." Tatsuki said bitterly recalling people like that in the world of the living as well.

"Yes, but I'm sure you can see that they don't exactly give soul reapers a good name." Sora said and came to a stop, "This is it, but you won't get past the gate."

"Thank you for taking care of me." Tatsuki said.

She walked to the bridge not knowing what to expect on the other side but when she got close to it a wall came crashing down ahead of her and fell all along the river surrounding the Seireitei and a muscular man came crashing down not long after. He wore the robes of a soul reaper and called out to her, "Who dares try and enter the Seireitei? A soul reaper, what squad are you from?"

"I'm not a soul reaper." Tatsuki said and walked closer so she wouldn't have to shout to him but when she got closer her drew his sword. "I was killed recently by a man named Aizen. I just want answers about what happened after that. Can you tell me or do I have to talk to someone else?"

"I don't know much about what's been happening lately but you aren't getting past me without a permit no matter if you're telling the truth or not." He said.

"I am telling the truth." Tatsuki said. "I was trained by Shihouin Yoruichi and she gave me this robe. It has squad two's emblem on the hem."

"I don't know of anyone by that name." He said. "Leave, before I take your life."

Tatsuki was completely taken aback by the reaction and the lack of information this guard had. She thought quickly on other things to try and soon found one, "I'm friends with Ichigo Kurosaki and Rukia-"

"You can be friends with whoever you want it won't change a damned thing for you." He said. "Get lost."

She felt almost defeated until she felt a hand fall on her shoulder and with it utter defeat. Her gaze went to Sora and he said, "Come on, there's no use in trying when the outcome will always be the same no matter what you try."

"How can I get a permit?" Tatsuki asked.

"They aren't handed out." Sora said. "And I don't know anyone that's even seen one."

"That's just it then?" Tatsuki asked rhetorically. "I'm dead and I won't even know if my death meant anything to anyone. It just caused everyone painand especially Orihime."

"Orihime," Sora said slowly. "Is she a close friend of yours?"

"She's my best friend." Tatsuki said nervously hoping nothing bad would happen.

"Then I'm afraid she would be hurt the most unless you had someone else closer to you."

"No one," Tatsuki said. "But everyone I know might be dead now as well."

She looked away from Sora and walked away to clear her mind while thinking back on her fight against Aizen. There was never a chance for her to win against him and she did all that she could against him even managing to grasp her bankai but it hadn't been enough. The feeling that coursed through her when she achieved it was amazing but now that Honoban was no longer with her she doubted she would ever feel that way again and without him she couldn't become a soul reaper.

Tatsuki walked down to the river that separated the district from Seireitei and took a seat. She looked at her hands rather than the wall that separated her from what she wanted. The scars covering her arms had gotten worse and only proved how much she had pushed herself and given up for a chance to kill Aizen for what he had done only to be killed. She had put up a good fight but he was too fast for her though the wounds she gave him would have been more fatal then they appeared so she could only hope that they affected him to the point where it cost him his life later on in another battle. She could only hope now.

Her gaze went to the wall and noticed that Sora was standing next to her quietly so she spoke, "I'm sorry if I was being rude it's just that I gave up everything to protect my home and I don't even know if I was successful. In the middle of the fight I achieved my bankai and the wounds I inflicted may have done more damage than they appeared to since the flame of my zanpakutou is so hot it sears the wound shut. The wounds I inflicted on Aizen may have been fatal but right after I made it he stabbed me below the throat and I died when I hit the ground. The last thing I saw was my zanpakutou going back to its original state. I only got him twice but maybe those two times were enough."

"We may never know." Sora said. "Like I said earlier, to find out you would have to ask a soul reaper and you can't get into the Seireitei unless you have a travel pass."

"Or I am a soul reaper as well." Tatsuki said. "How do I become one?"

"You have to graduate at the academy but can you do it?" Sora asked.

"I achieved my shikai in five days and my bankai in a total of eight days of having my zanpakutou." Tatsuki said and stood up with a new determination. "Point me in the direction of this academy. I'll graduate in half the time it takes anyone else."

"Unfortunately I don't know where it is and how can you graduate without a zanpkutou?" Sora asked crushing her determination in half. "Is your sword just going to appear?"

Tatsuki looked at him recalling her ability to summon her zanpakutou making her wonder how that had slipped her mind. She focused on her zanpakutou's spirit, envisioning Honoban was sitting in front of her and waiting for her to call for him and she did just that, "Mezamemasu, Honoban"

She closed her eyes and focused even more but Honoban did not come to her this time and she could not sense him anywhere so she tried entering her inner world but even that proved to be useless. She couldn't enter it without Honoban and he was no longer with her so she had no way of finding him and possibly no way of using any of the abilities she had worked so hard to gain. "I can't even feel his presence anymore."

"Then you may not be able to become a soul reaper." Sora said.

"Yeah, so that just leaves finding one and getting answers from him." Tatsuki said. "Where do they normally hang out when they come here?"

"At a small bar not far from here." Sora said. "By this time if they are there they'd be rowdy. Are you sure you want to face them like that?"

"I'm not going to wait around for them to sober up." Tatsuki said. "Show me where they are."

Sore sighed and led her back up the hill, "I hope you're as strong as you say you are but without a zanpakutou it may be difficult for you."

"I can handle myself just fine." Tatsuki said confidently.

"If you say so." He said and led her into the darkening streets.

While they walked Tatsuki searched within her for any trace of reiatsu she may have left and found only a little amount but if she could materialise it onto her arms like she did for her swords she might be able to use it against her opponents. She tried to get a better hold of it and found it slip through her fingers like sand so she told herself to make it denser so she could grasp at it and use it. The more focus she put into it the more she found she could get a hold of making her smirk with the knowledge that she might be able to grasp her abilities again. She looked at her hand and tried to let some of her reiatsu encase her arm and found it did but she did not allow any flames dance on her arms like it did when she used Sho-bo. To her this was a good sign that told her she hadn't lost much and she might still have her speed at her disposal too.

Angered shouts brought her away from her thoughts and made her look up to find that they had arrived and already the harassment of the soul reapers became evident. A soul reaper stood above another man that had been thrown to the ground. The soul reaper was yelling at him over some pointless matter and it was clear that he believed himself to be superior to the people around him. No one stood up against him at all and everyone around tried to keep their distance and kept their gaze even further away showing the oppression.

Tatsuki walked over to him angrily, "Hey, why don't you fight someone that's actually willing to fight you?"

The soul reaper looked at her and the other man took advantage of the distraction to run away but it didn't go unnoticed though the soul reaper showed no interest in pursuing him and just walked over to Tatsuki and took her from the hem of her robes, "Who the hell do you think you are talking to me like that? Squad two, huh. What's a shadow bastard like you doing here? Does Captain Soi Fong have some interest in these low lives?"

He laughed at the thought but Tatsuki didn't react to his insult with angered shouts and instead just grabbed his wrists and twisted them while turning her body to throw him off of her, "Don't talk so lowly of squad two. I may not be an actual soul reaper but when I am you can sure as hell bet I'll be in squad two!"

"If you're not a soul reaper," He started while getting up. "Why the hell are you wearing a shihakusho?"

"Yoruichi gave it to me when she trained me." Tatsuki said. "Now I'm going to tell you what's going to happen, I'm going to kick your ass then you're going to answer some questions I have."

The soul reaper burst out laughing at her statement, "Do you have any idea who I am? I'm the great Eiji of the eleventh squad. The eleventh squad is the strongest in all of the Gotei thirteen and we-"

She cut him off using flash step to attack him with an open hand strike to the chest sending him to the ground where he coughed for air. Tatsuki took up a martial arts stance in case he chose to attack her again but while she waited she asked, "Do you know what happened to Aizen?"

"Why does that matter to you?" He asked angrily and ran at her.

"It matters because I fought against him to protect Karakura but he killed me." Tatsuki said and blocked his fist and struck him again. "I want to know if my death meant anything!"

He stumbled back from her attack and looked her in the eye, "He's been imprisoned and Karakura's just fine. I heard it was a human named Kurosaki that aided in his defeat and you're not him."

A spark of jealous anger filled her knowing that Ichigo had beaten Aizen while she didn't even have a chance against him even though she knew he had been at this a lot longer than she had. "Were there many casualties?"

"Just a few in weaker squads." He replied. "You said you were from Karakura correct?"

"Yes." Tatsuki replied and dropped her guard.

"I don't recall hearing about any reported deaths among the living or soul reapers there." He said watching her carefully.

Tatsuki's eyes widened, "But that's impossible I died. Aizen stabbed me in the chest and I lost my life when I hit the ground. I felt my life end while I fell."

"Then maybe it just wasn't reported or your body wasn't found." He replied. "But hell, I don't know all the details."

"Then take me to someone who would know!" Tatsuki demanded.

"No way, there's no way you'd even be allowed in the Seireitei and no captain or vice-captain would come out here to clear the matter up for you." He said. "Just do yourself a favor and get a new life. Before you know it you'll forget all about your life in the human world just like everyone else does and don't let me see you around here again."

"I'm the one that should be saying that to you." Tatsuki said as he walked away.

She watched him walk back to the Seireitei despite sensing all the eyes on her now. Tatsuki knew they must have been curious with her actions and her claim of not being a soul reaper despite wearing a squad two shihakusho. Regardless of the fact she still wore the beat up robes with pride and didn't plan on replacing them any time soon and hoped to keep the pride of these robes even after her memory of life faded away. She understood now that Sora hadn't even the slightest clue that they had met or that her best friend was his little sister but after he had attacked her as a hollow she didn't want to speak to him of the connection or his relation to Orihime, in fact she thought it might be best to avoid talking about her all together after his small silence when she spoke her beloved friend's name.

"Sora, would you mind if I stayed at your home for a little while until I can find another place to stay." Tatsuki said.

"The way things work here is a little different from the human world, Tatsuki." He said. "Here souls come together and make their own family even if they aren't related since there aren't enough houses for everyone. The two people I lived with before are no longer living in my home, one died and the other went off to try and become a soul reaper a few months ago. You're more than welcome to stay as long as you want."

"We'll see." Tatsuki said. "There are things I need to figure out while I still can."

"You won't lose your memory for about three months so don't rush your thoughts too much or it'll just lead to misunderstandings." Sora said reassuringly.

"That's good to know." Tatsuki said. "But I'd like to do this first so maybe I can find some peace in death."

"That will come when you accept this world." Sora said. "Come on, let's go home."

Tatsuki nodded and followed him back to his home in what she assumed was the center of the district and found that even more eyes were on her but she didn't look at the people watching her. She didn't want to know what looks they were giving her and she didn't want to meet their eyes just yet in case it frightened them even more. It would be nice if they didn't remain afraid of her but she wouldn't pursue their friendship or go out of her way to change their opinion. If possible she hoped to travel to the soul reaper academy as soon as possible and get into Seireitei, not just to become a soul reaper and find the answers she sought but also in hopes of being able to see Orihime once again and if she were lucky she would be able to tell the girl how she felt. But then there was a chance that she would forget her own feelings and that was the last thing that she wanted to happen.

They reached Sora's house and she was led in to a side room with a round floor table. He motioned her to it while he went to the other side of the room to make them some tea. Tatsuki remained silent and looked at her scarred hands and arms with a discontent look and wondered if she could regain her zanpakutou or if this was all she would have to remember Honoban if he too faded from her memory. She didn't want him to and she didn't want to lose any of her friends either. She remembered her last couple weeks of life where she had been more focused on her training than her friends and wished she had taken some time to spend with them knowing now that a couple hours wouldn't have changed anything.

She remembered her last conversation with Chizuru and wondered if she had forced Orihime into a relationship or if she was respecting her death and grieving for a while before taking Orihime. She wanted to find a way back even if it were only temporary so she could see Orihime one last time and tell her everything she felt and accomplished for her. It was almost ironic that she had done so much for Orihime just to lose her life the day she would have returned home. The thought saddened her and made her wonder if it would have been better for her to have denied Yoruichi's offer of training even though she had never been more proud of her strength.

A small smile formed on her face knowing that she would have accepted even if she knew her fate. It was better to die giving it your all than being killed in ignorance and not doing a thing to help anyone. If Yoruishi had told her from the start that she wold be killed she would have pushed herself even more to get stronger rather than just doing what she could in hopes of making Yoruichi proud like she noticed she did on more than one occasion and would have focused more on taking control of her reiatsu like she had done in her fight against Aizen. If she had been able to do that from the beginning she was certain there would have been less limitations to her training but she feared what she would face and what her powers were really capable of but most of all, she was terrified of harming Orihime with her reiatsu. That fear had limited her so much in her training and she was sure now that if she didn't have that fear she would have achieved her shikai much sooner.

"Your tea is going to get cold if you keep staring off into space." Sora said.

Tatsuki looked away from her hands and found that there was a clay cup of hot tea in front of her, "Sorry, I was just reflecting on the last couple weeks of my life."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Sora asked. "I don't mean to pry into your life but it isn't every day that one encounters someone with fresh memories of life."

"There's this friend I have that I would do anything for," Tatsuki started. "But she was taken from me by a man I never even met. It wasn't from me though but everyone, at the time I wasn't even involved in everything but I was approached by a woman named Yoruichi. She offered to train me and explained the situation my friend was in. Back in middle school I made a promise to always protect this friend but she had gained these abilities that put in her into situations that I couldn't protect her from so when I was given the offer to become strong enough to protect her again I couldn't refuse.

"From that moment until the day before I died I trained to become stronger. Even when I was at school I had weights on my body restricting my movements so I could move faster. Day by day I achieved so much that Yoruichi even called me a protégée. That compliment made me feel happy and also made me realise that for the first time in a long time I would be able to protect my friend again but even after that I gave my training everything I had to improve myself even more so that when it came down to protecting her she wouldn't have to worry at all. I made such amazing progress that I felt invincible but Yoruichi really made me open my eyes about actual life or death situations since she had always held back on me and made me realise the consequence of fighting."

Tatsuki fell silent for a moment and clenched her fists on the table, "I never realised the real dangers of my powers until I woke up and found that my own reiatsu had scarred my arms. During my fight against Aizen I was wounded even more and to stop the bleeding I even seared my wound shut just so that I could keep fighting but I could barely get up after that and I broke a promise I made to Yoruichi. I offered Honoban my life for bankai to fight Aizen even though I knew by doing that I would never see my friend again. It was about more than just her though and I realised that too late. It wasn't just her that I had to protect it was all of Karakura because if I didn't everyone would have died. Since Aizen was at least defeated my death wasn't a complete waste since I bought the others enough time to get there."

Sora looked at her with surprise and eventually found his voice to speak, "That is quite a story for a human life."

"I guess so." Tatsuki chuckled. "That's why I want to get to the soul reaper academy as soon as possible so that maybe I can see my friend again as well as everyone else I know in the living world. I don't want to haunt them or anything just tell them why I sacrificed myself. I want them to know what it was for so that maybe they can understand."

"That is an understandable desire but it takes years to become a soul reaper, not months." Sora said. "I'm afraid by the time you finish you will have forgotten your life as a human and your friends will have forgotten any importance your death may have had and if you somehow manage to tell them what will it mean then?"

Tatsuki let out a sigh and sipped her tea and felt saddened by the news that to almost everyone she knew her death was indeed meaningless but as long as she knew the truth she was ok with that. "My death may be harder for me to accept than I originally thought."

"I'm sorry, I just do not want you to get your hopes up too high." Sora said sadly.

"It's fine." Tatsuki said and stood up. "If you don't mind I'd like to be alone for a while."

"Of course," Sora said.

Tatsuki left the small house and walked down the street finding even less people on it now but she cared little for them. She looked in the direction of Seireitei and wondered if she would be fast enough to sneak in with flash step when the gate returned to the sky, if it ever did go back up there. The thought was considered for a while before she gave up on it knowing that if the same guard were to appear it would just be trouble for her and he would be more likely to attack her the next time so she would play it safe and just become a soul reaper no matter how long it took her she would find the academy and enroll then do whatever it took to graduate as fast as she could. When she was a soul reaper she would join squad two and do whatever it was that she had to do in that squad.


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer::I own nothing but half the idea. lol**

**Chapter 15: Home**

Tatsuki stood on a small bridge early in the morning looking out at Seireitei in the distance almost lost in thought. No one that past her paid her any mind now since they were used to her daily presence on the bridge and even in their small district. She had been living in the Rukon district for two weeks now though she had missed her first few days there that didn't matter to her now. In the time she was conscious all she did was think back on her life even though she had been told many times not to dwell on it because it could be troublesome for her later on. Tatsuki didn't want to forget or move on and she felt deep down that she couldn't and perhaps it was because of this feeling that she had the same dream every night.

Whenever she slept she dreamt of being submerged underwater with a familiar voice calling out to her but she could never remember whose voice it was that called to her. Each night it called her name and every morning she woke up in pain from the wounds that Aizen had given her and that she had given herself. Her chest ached with the heat of her zanpakutou from where she seared her wounds shut and her throat was sore from when she was stabbed causing her breathing to be pained as well. The pain lasted her hours every day making her skip breakfast no matter how hungry she always was in the mornings like she had exhausted all her energy while she slept.

Her stomach rumbled in her hunger and she placed a hand on it with a small sigh. She had recently begun wrapping her hands and arms with bandages so that they didn't attract too many stares from others and to avoid questions about her death. Most people had simply assumed it as a fire and she would have been more content with that rather than admitting how she really died with a sense of failure filling her each time she said it. The feeling made her feel even more shameful for her uselessness and she wanted to avoid making it worse as much as she could so she hid her scars.

She sensed Sora's approach and looked over at him with a faint smile. He chuckled and said, "How do you always know I'm coming?"

"I can sense your presence." Tatsuki said. "It's familiar to me, like someone else I used to know. It's almost scary to be honest."

"Is this that same friend you keep talking about?" Sora asked making Tatsuki look away in response. "Will I ever learn her name? It really seems like you care for her a lot, almost like you were in love with her."

"I am," Tatsuki admitted. "The same hour I died I found out from a friend that my feelings were returned."

"Then it's unfortunate that you never told her how you really felt." Sora said and offered her a cup of tea.

She accepted the tea and looked back out at the Seireitei while leaning on the guard with another sigh, "There's not a moment that goes by that I didn't wish I had. I'd give up being a soul reaper just to have a chance at being with her again."

Sora smiled at her showing his fond thoughts on the situation but she looked away. She had refrained from being too specific with what she talked about and who she talked about just in case he remembered something. Tatsuki didn't know what would happen if the soul suddenly recalled something in their past life but she didn't want to chance it with him so she was careful about what she said to him and she was even careful what she told the children who gathered around her sometimes to ask her questions. When asked questions about her life she always answered as best she could because without fail life filled the eyes of those who listened and wondered if they tried to imagine their life to be something like that or if just the thought of the living world was enough to excite them.

She drank her tea in the silence while they both looked out towards Seireitei. Neither spoke while they did this and it had become a ritual for them that they performed daily. Tatsuki would wake up and walk to the bridge to look at the Seireitei and Sora would eventually join her with tea and minor conversation then they would just stand in silence while drinking their tea. When they finished they would return their cups to their home and go about their daily business, Sora would work and Tatsuki would go to the river and think. She didn't like that she was freeloading but she also didn't plan on staying for much longer and planned to head for the soul reaper academy as soon as she could.

Tatsuki finished her tea and felt the pain in her throat disappear a little more allowing her to breathe a little easier. She let her gaze wander around the morning crowds and found the usual dull and dirty colours of the kimono that the people wore but then there was a flash of orange that stood out making her look at the colour even more until she recognized the woman wearing it. Her eyes widened and she ran to the woman leaving Sora confused at her sudden action. She called out to Yoruichi getting the woman's attention easily and came to a stop in front of her. "What are you doing here?"

"I was looking for you." Yoruichi said. "Come on, I'm taking you back."

"Back?" Tatsuki asked "But I'm dead."

"You're not dead, you were just separated from your body and when everything was finished all the souls in Karakura were brought to Soul Society, including yours." Yoruichi explained. "I've spent the past two weeks looking for you so you could reenter your body before it's too late."

"That sounds like good news." Sora said, joining them and taking Tatsuki's cup from her. "You shouldn't waste any more time then, Tatsuki. Live a good life for us both."

"Yeah, I will." Tatsuki said and bowed to him. "Thank you for taking me in, Sora."

He smiled at her as the two walked towards Seireitei quickly. Yoruichi glanced at Tatsuki with a smirk, "Make a new friend while you were here?"

"That was Orihime's older brother, Sora." Tatsuki said. "Small world, huh?"

"Does he remember anything?" Yoruichi asked.

"No, I was careful about what I told him." Tatsuki said. "I didn't think it would be good if he remembered being a hollow or his life."

"Good," Yoruichi said. "There's no telling what could have happened if he remembered any if those things."

"I had a feeling that might be the case so I was careful when I spoke of Karakura and Orihime." Tatsuki said. "I know I shouldn't have talked to him about it but it was the closest to his blessing that I could get even if I couldn't be with Orihime."

"Except you're still alive so you can have that chance if you want to take it." Yoruichi said.

"It's not a chance." Tatsuki said. "I know she loves me too, a friend told me before Aizen beat me but I still don't understand how I could have survived that."

"The armor you wore absorbed most of the attacks." Yoruichi explained. "Kisuke designed it so that any attack that got through your defense would lose most of its force to limit your injuries but then you went and made them worse with your zanpakutou."

"I would have died of blood loss if I didn't close that wound." Tatsuki defended. "But that's not important to me right now. I've been here for two weeks now, how is my body still alive?"

"Your zanpakutou has been keeping you alive." Yoruichi said. "You may have noticed its absence here. Normally a zanpakutou would stay with its owner even if the soul is separated from the body but it remained with your body to keep you alive but like you said, it's been two weeks. We may be going back to a corpse."

"You don't know?" Tatsuki asked in outrage. "How the hell don't you know?"

"I've been looking for you nonstop since I recovered enough to walk." Yoruichi said. "I didn't take the time to go back to the human world to check on you every day. Kisuke's there though and if anything happened he would have let me know. Since he hasn't its safe to say that you're body is still alive. I know you're in a hurry but we're going to have to make a detour before going back to the human world."

"How long will it take?" Tatsuki asked impatiently.

"Not long." Yoruichi said. "We're just going to visit Captain Ukitake to let him know that you've been found. I'm not the only one that's looking for you after all."

"Who else is?" Tatsuki asked almost afraid that Orihime was here somewhere as well."

"Rukia's looking for you too." Yoruichi replied. "She's the only one in Soul Society that knows you and we couldn't waste time by only having one person search the entire Rukon district. I know two people isn't much either but everyone else that could have come has had their hands full."

"How are they all now?" Tatsuki asked while they neared the gate.

"Everyone's fine but," Yoruichi started while the gate closed in front of them.

Before the guard could even speak Yoruichi held up what Tatsuki assumed were travel permits and the guard began opening the gate for them with an angry mutter making her realise that he recognised her from when she first approached the gate. She thanked him while she passed and the two continued towards the Seireitei at the same quick pace they had before while Yoruichi continued, "Ichigo lost all his soul reaper powers in his fight against Aizen and the others were treated before retuning. Orihime was a little beat up but she sustained no major injuries but because she has very strong healing abilities she exhausted herself trying to help everyone involved in the battle. Both she and Ichigo are fine now but I don't doubt there is concern on your whereabouts."

"Then we shouldn't keep them waiting." Tatsuki said and smirked.

Yoruichi chuckled, "Do you think you can keep up with me."

"Yeah," Tatsuki said.

Yoruichi met her eyes and disappeared but Tatsuki was right after her with a widening smile for having a chance to use these abilities again. It felt like she hadn't done this in a very long time even though it was only two weeks ago that she was doing something similar with Yoruichi, though this time they weren't fighting each other, this was just for fun. They took to the rooftops when they got to the Seireitei and Tatsuki looked around the area finding it looked much nicer than the district she had just been in. It made her wonder why there was such a difference between Seireitei and the Rukon district but her curiosity didn't last long when she noticed that she had slowed down and Yoruichi was too far away from her.

Tatsuki hurried her pace and caught up with Yoruichi only for the woman to look back with a smirk then quicken her own pace almost tauntingly. She pushed herself to go even faster but found it more difficult to do so with each stop. It wasn't long after she felt that she had to stop but saw Yoruichi heading straight for a building not far away she knew she had to keep pushing to make it there at least hoping that it was their destination. When she saw Yoruichi enter the top window she was both relieved and angered about having to go in through the top window even if it wasn't a tall building.

She came to a stop inside the building completely out of breath and fell to her knees with a heavy pant and not long after she heard her name be called. Tatsuki glanced up to see Rukia run to her side while Yoruichi smirked at her, "Was I going too fast for you?"

"Just a little bit." Tatsuki panted with a smirk. "If I had Honban with me it wouldn't have been a problem."

"So this is the human that faced Aizen." A white haired man, who she assumed was Captain Ukitake, spoke. "I've heard some things about you."

"Is that so." Tatsuki said and tried to calm her breathing while she stood up with a little help. "Have you been bragging about my progress?"

"I told them how quickly you achieved shikai and how quickly you accomplished everything else." Yoruichi said.

"I might have another one." Tatsuki said nervously. "I may have grasped bankai."

Everyone looked at her with wide eyes and she knew she would have to explain that next so she didn't wait for the question to be asked and just spoke, "When I was fighting Aizen I knew that all I could do was buy time for someone to come and take him on themselves but I was already too injured to even stand so I begged my zanpakutou to lend me all his strength even if it cost me my life. I only had bankai for a few minutes before Aizen stabbed me below my throat and I lost consciousness."

"How did you do it?" Yoruichi asked her with a stern tone in her voice.

"I took control of my reiatsu and accepted death." Tatsuki said.

"That's not how bankai is achieved." Captain Ukitake said. "To achieve bankai one must materialise their zanpakutou's spirit outside of their inner world and beat it."

"Well I've never materialised him on my own, he's just kind of appeared around me sometimes." Tatsuki said. "But I beat him in my inner world."

"That's not enough to grant you bankai." Yoruichi said.

"Could it have been the trade of her life for it?" Rukia asked.

"We can't overlook that possibility." Captain Ukitake said.

"But my body is still alive." Tatsuki said.

"And you only had your bankai for a few minutes." Yoruichi said. "It may not have drained your life completely but it could have shortened your life span dramatically in that time span. Under the circumstances you were under it is understandable that you would do something so foolish but if you ever try to use it again I will kill you where you stand. Your shikai is dangerous enough and has already almost killed you many times. The scars on your body are proof enough of that and the more you use it the more it will destroy you."

"I know that it's dangerous." Tatsuki said. "I know that every time I look at my arms but I can control it now. My reiatsu won't hurt me anymore, I have control now."

"You said that before as well." Yoruichi said.

"I didn't stop training just because I thought I was dead." Tatsuki said and raised her arm to create a sphere of reiatsu on the palm of her hand. "I trained every day until this stopped taking the form of a fire. I've spent every day controling my reiatsu and in two days I was going to join the soul reaper academy so I could be a member of squad two like I had originally planned. Even if I couldn't hear Honoban I was sure that I'd hear him again."

Tatsuki lowered her arm and let her reiatsu disappear, "I'm not about hang up my sword because it might be dangerous, I'm not a coward and I never will be. I agreed to your training for the same reason I'll continue and I have even more reason to do that now that Ichigo lost his powers."

"Tatsuki, you're underestimating the others." Rukia said.

"And you're underestimating me." Tatsuki stated. "I can handle myself just fine. There may have been a time when I couldn't control my reiatsu but that time ended. I'm stronger now."

"Then prove it to me." Yoruichi said.

"Any time you want." Tatsuki said confidently.

"I'll give you one hour when we get you back in your body then we're having another match." Yoruichi said.

"No holding back?" Tatsuki asked.

"If you claim you're not a child anymore then I won't treat you like one." Yoruichi said.

Tatsuki nodded and said, "We're wasting time."

"Before you two go I wouldn't mind seeing how powerful Tatsuki is for myself." Captain Ukitake said.

"That's fine with me." Tatsuki said losing her anger to be more respectful.

"If you want an audience then I know someone else that should be present." Yoruichi said. "But that will take a lot of convincing."

"Yes, I don't see Captain Soi Fong agreeing to go to the human world for any reason and this will also need to be cleared with Captain Yamamoto." Captain Ukitake said. "It might take a few days."

"That's even better." Tatsuki said with a slight laugh. "I doubt my body has even moved for the past two weeks so I'm going to be completely stiff when I get back into it."

"That's why I'm giving you an hour in it before our match." Yoruichi said. "We should go before it dies."

"Yeah, it was an honour meeting you." Tatsuki said with a bow to the captain before raising and looking at Rukia. "Thanks for trying to find me out there."

"Not a problem." Rukia said with a smile. "I might see you around sometime."

"That'd be fun." Tatsuki said.

"Let's go." Yoruichi said before disappearing and leaving Tatsuki with a sense of dread for how much she would have to push herself to wherever they were going now but she was soon after the woman regardless.

This time Yoruichi was going much slower letting Tatsuki travel right behind her and she knew immediately something was wrong and wondered why it had taken her so long to realise that Yoruichi had been acting different since they arrived at Captain Ukitake's office. Was it simply because Tatsuki had broken her promise and achieved bankai or was there something else bothering her? Tatsuki watched the woman ahead of her and wondered what could be wrong leaving out as little options as possible and wondered if it was related to Captain Soi Fong and then realised that she had never heard the woman speak her name to her before and she had only learned it after coming here.

They came to a stop after a few minutes outside a large gate and Yoruichi walked towards it with Tatsuki following the woman closely. There were two guards standing in front of it and began opening the gate without orders or anything making Tatsuki wonder where this gate led to and if there were gates leading to all over the world. "Tatsuki, when they gate opens we'll be in the senkaimon. It's best to move fast and not touch the walls."

"I'm fine with using flash step through it." Tatsuki said.

"No we'll walk." Yoruichi said. "There are thing we need to discuss and we'll do it on the way to Karakura. I know you must have many questions but I'll answer them later."

"That's fine." Tatsuki said. "But there's one question I have to ask."

"What is it?" Yoruichi asked as they walked into the senkaimon.

"What's bothering you?" Tatsuki asked. "You're agitated, it isn't like you."

"It's my fault you're in this situation." Yoruichi said. "I didn't prepare you enough for what was to come and I made you face Aizen on your own. I shouldn't have allowed that but I couldn't stop him from going to Karakura."

"That's alright because I stalled him enough for Ichigo to get there." Tatsuki said. "That was all I was trying to accomplish. I realised that was all I could do so I did that as much as I could. It paid off, didn't it? There weren't any reported casualties in Karakura."

"That's true but how did you know that?" Yoruichi asked.

"I asked a guy in squad eleven that harassed a few people in the district I was in." Tatsuki said. "I asked him about what happened but he wasn't much help. If he was I likely would be home by now."

"Yes you would be." Yoruichi agreed.

"This way is fine too." Tatsuki said. "I had a lot of time to think and train on my own. My only regret is worrying Orihime as much as I have already but I'll go visit her before going home today."

"I'm sure she'd really appreciate knowing that you're alright." Yoruichi said. "I haven't been in the human world lately so I don't know how the people close to you are reacting to your disappearance but it's likely you'll get a variety of reactions."

"Yeah, that and I'll be grounded for god knows how long." Tatsuki said with a roll of the eyes.

"Will that stop you from coming to our training sessions?" Yoruichi asked with mild amusement.

"Not even close." Tatsuki said. "I'll be there every day from start to finish and I won't hold myself back."

"So the girl you love returns your feelings and now you have all the confidence in the world." Yoruichi said with amusement.

"It's not just that." Tatsuki said. "It's the fact that I'm alive and I can keep living. The feeling is incredible."

"Enjoy it while you can." Yoruichi said with a chuckle. "Your body is still in bad shape even if you don't feel it now but it will be very difficult for you to use your hands even with the treatments given to you. Even breathing may be very difficult for you because of the damage you did to yourself with your zanpakutou."

"And there's no real way of treating that is there?" Tatsuki asked.

"There is one way, but it's not something I can do for you." Yoruichi said. "You won't have to worry about it though so don't think too much about it. Chances are you'll get the treatment before you return to your everyday life, I can almost guarantee it."

Tatsuki nodded while wondering what this miracle treatment was and who could give it to her but decided that for the time being she should focus on other matters, "What was it that you wanted to talk to me about?"

"Your role in the human world," Yoruichi replied. "If you can't control your reiatsu then I don't want you doing anything to help Orihime or anyone else against hollows and if it continues to harm you then I'll have it sealed within you so you can't use it at all. You won't hear Honoban's voice anymore either. If you can control it however then you will have to make a choice on whether or not you want to help the others against the hollows that enter Karakura. You won't be able to help spirits move on but you'll be able to purify hollows unlike the others.

"How would I do that?" Tatsuki asked.

"By killing it with your zanpkutou you're allowing it to travel to Soul Society though the soul will have no recollection of being a hollow." Yoruichi said.

"That's good to know." Tatsuki said distantly recalling how Sora had once been a hollow and knew that Ichigo had killed his hollow form. "I guess that makes sense then but I already know what I want to do."

"Don't make that decision until tonight." Yoruichi said. "Readjust to your body before you make any commitments you won't be able to keep."

"Yeah," Tatsuki said and wondered just what shape her body was in.

The other gate leading back to the human world began to open and Tatsuki felt relief for leaving the senkaimon. She didn't give her surroundings any thought at all and just focused on her conversation and getting out but she couldn't deny the uneasy feeling the place held. The closer she got to the gate the more difficult it became for her to breathe and the more she felt that she would collapse just from entering the human world again. "I don't really feel too good."

Yoruichi looked at her and said, "That's to be expected considering how far away from your body we are. We'll travel fast."

"I won't be able to make it." Tatsuki said and already felt like collapsing.

"That means your body's about to die." Yoruichi said and picked her up. "We'll make it, just hang on, Tatsuki."

She nodded easily not finding it possible to doubt this woman at all no matter what it was that was happening. If Yoruichi said they would make it then she had absolute faith that they would no matter how far away they were from her body. Yoruichi was the Goddess of Flash Step and no one would ever take that title from her so distance and speed meant nothing. Tatsuki was even more certain of this when she found herself flying over Karakura at a pace she could only dream of and felt the wind whipping against her face and blowing through her hair while they travelled.

Tatsuki gripped Yoruichi's jacket to wordlessly voice that she was feeling worse. The response she got was a tighter grip and a faster pace that made her head spin and soon she felt a drop making her want to throw up but before she could everything went dark and she returned to her dreams where she felt submerged but this time she didn't hear the voice calling to her. This time she felt its pressense right by her side giving her the strength to surface with a hoarse and choked breath.

She opened her eyes but found her vision was blurred and couldn't adjust to the light very well while she tried desperately just to stay above the water. In front of her, on the edge, she saw a figure she knew immediately even without clear vision and even his voice wasn't necessary to hear but was welcoming when he spoke, _'Welcome back, Tatsuki.'_

"Honoban," Tatsuki said weakly. "You have no idea how good it is to hear your voice."

'_On the contrary, I know quite well.'_ Honoban replied while Tatsuki struggled to join him. _'I didn't think you would make it on time.'_

"Well no one told me I was alive until today." Tatsuki said with a chuckle. "Thank you for everything you've done for me in the past few weeks. You've saved my life more times than I would like to think about and without you I'd be nothing more than an average human."

'_We are a team, Tatsuki if you need my strength you need only ask and I will lend it to you.'_ Honoban said. _'I will not let you die so easily no matter the situation you find yourself in. So long as you trust me you will have the strength to survive.'_

"Yeah, but it wasn't a lack of trust when I fought against Aizen." Tatsuki said. "I lacked strength."

'_No, you had that.' _Honoban said calmly. _'What you lacked was courage and the resolve to survive. You consented to death too easily and it made you lose the true strength you wield. Did you so easily forget your draw with Yoruichi in the face of a true battle? You resolved to fight her with all that you had and turned the tides of the fight to your favor like you could have done against Aizen but your fear of death dulled your blade and let him touch me with his bare hand when not even Yoruichi dared to while your acceptance of your fate made you miss fatal spots on his body giving your opponent the advantage over you. Never be foolish enough to make that mistake again.'_

Tatsuki's eyes widened before her anger filled her for her own mistakes and she clenched her fists only to find pain in the action. She looked at her hands and found the intensity of her injuries was the same as they were in Soul Society so the scars and burns on the rest of her body would also be the same though she had a feeling they would hurt her a lot more than they did when she woke up this morning. The pain that was already coursing through her body pulsed with each movement she made but she knew it would fade away with time and use but there still remained the question of how much would remain. Burns were nothing like that of an old stab wound and the nerves were permanently damaged, which she had already discovered.

"Tatsuki, how are you feeling?" Yoruichi called.

"Aside from pain pulsing through my body I feel great." Tatsuki said looking over her shoulder at the woman walking over to her with a clean shikakuso for her to wear and food. "How fast were you moving before? That seemed impossible."

"My title isn't just for show, little protégée." Yoruichi said and placed the food and clothes down not far from her and offered her a towel. "You should eat something to regain your strength."

"Thank you for everything." Tatsuki said and lifted herself out of the water and accepted the towel. She wasted no time in drying herself so she'd be dry by the time she got to her clothes. When she got to them she felt she was dry enough and started to get dressed as fast as she could while saying, "If you hadn't offered to train me my own reiatsu could have killed me. You even came for me when I thought I was dead."

"It wouldn't have killed you but it would have brought you a lot of unwanted attention from hollows." Yoruichi said. "I simply gave you the means to defend yourself."

"It was so much more than that." Tatsuki said. "You gave me the strength to protect the person I love most and that is far more than just protecting myself. I can be closer to her because of this and not be left in the dark anymore."

"Just eat your meal." Yoruichi said. "We still have a match that you need to prepare for."

"I know." Tatsuki said and picked up the tray of food and started towards a rock not far away so she could eat there. "Care to join me?"

"If I did you wouldn't use your time productively." Yoruichi replied. "I'll be back in fifty minutes to see if you can control your reiatsu or not."

"Alright," Tatsuki said and sensed the woman take her leave.

She placed the tray on the rock and walked back to the spring where her zanpakutou waited for her. When they were in her hands she felt the connection she had with Honoban increase and found that his presence with her was more defined than before or it was just his absence that made it seem more pronounced to her. Her zanpakutou rested on her lap while she ate the food at a decent pace and savoured the food and felt her energy return bit by bit and her stiffness throughout her body lessen but the pulses of pain remained where her flesh was seared from her shikai.

While she ate she thought about what Honoban had said to her about the way she had accepted death to easily and by doing so she had become weaker. It angered her and she told herself over and over again that she would never make that mistake again no matter who her opponent was, she would never hold back and she would never underestimate them or her own abilities. The phrase was repeated again and again even long after she finished eating and began stretching her muscles and massaging them. She continued even when she began practicing the basics with her zanpakutou to make sure that her stiffness wouldn't affect her in battle.

The whole hour she practiced and continued to move her body and expelled her reiatsu in controlled bursts through her movements and her swings. She didn't want to just waste it but assure that her control was proficient when she was in her human body as well. There was no way she wanted to risk having another moment where her reiatsu flared out of control and hurt those around her whether it was Yoruichi, Orihime, or anyone else she knew. She wanted complete control of her powers and her abilities and she would continue to train until she had that then she would keep training and get even stronger. Tatsuki wanted to get as strong as she could so that she could protect Orihime against anything that dared harm her.

She relaxed her stance with a deep breath and looked her bystander in the eye with a determined look, "I'm ready, Yoruichi."


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer::I own nothing but half the idea. lol**

**Chapter 16: The girl she loves**

Tatsuki had trained with Yoruichi all day and then hours into the night and she had proved time and time again that she had full control of her reiatsu. But with each session they had she felt her body ache from two weeks of not being used leading to many losses against the older woman but their fights were merely practice and not serious though they were never taken lightly by Tatsuki. She refused to hold back and she would not underestimate her opponent. It didn't matter that this was just a friendly match, she did everything she could to counter each attack instead of dodging and take the hit regardless.

The hours passed and her tire grew but she never gave up against Yoruichi until they eventually called it a day and shared a much needed meal where they discussed the things that had taken place over the past two weeks before Tatsuki left to return home and get grounded. With the late hour she wore her shihakusho home rather than her school uniform and travelled through the air with her uniform tucked in a small bag she had slung over her shoulder for ease when when she got home though she knew she would have to go straight to her room to change then go through her front door to get scolded and grounded.

With that knowledge she enjoyed the cool night breeze and took her time flying through the air with a smile until she heard a howl making her come to a short stop and look around. She saw the hollow and went towards it without using flash step knowing that her body couldn't take too much more abuse today. When she got closer she saw something flying around the hollow as if it was fighting it then she noticed that there were others there fighting the group of hollows. The sight made her come to a quick stop to secure the light bag to her sash and unsheathed her zanpakutou with a deep inhale causing fire to spark on the blades and she launched herself at the hollow Orihime fought at a quicker speed.

She took it out with a single strike while she passed it and landed silently beside but she didn't stumble and only rose to glance at the other four hollows before attacking them with flash step, taking them out instantly. When she came to a stop she was a decent distance away from them and glanced back at them while sheathing her weapons. The three of them looked shocked at her appearance but only Orihime spoke, "Tatsuki, please don't tell me you're…"

She couldn't finish her question so Tatsuki just smiled, "I'm not dead, don't worry. It's just a little complicated to explain."

"Perhaps you should start explaining then." Uryu said, pushing his glassed up.

"Yoruichi started training me a few weeks ago to control my reiatsu but I summoned a zanpakutou and I've been training with it ever since so I could face Aizen and help everyone." Tatsuki said calmly without showing much amusement in their reactions. "It didn't end too well and I was separated from my body and accidently sent to the Soul Society. I only got back this morning but I spent the day training with Yoruichi."

"I never wanted you involved in this." Orihime said sadly.

"It's alright," Tatsukis said reassuringly. "I'm strong enough to handle myself against whatever's to come and I'm still getting stronger. I know what I'm doing and this is what I want to do."

"Alright, I believe in you." Orihime said with a warming smile and walked over to her catching Tatsuki's eye. "You seem a lot stronger now. You're almost unrecognizable."

"I was trained well." Tatsuki said with a proud smirk.

"You've already shown that." Orihime said warmly. "I'm really impressed with you."

Tatsuki blushed at her warm expression and compliment while wondering how she had never noticed Orihime's feelings before when they were this obvious or had it been different before? It had been too long since she had a chance to actually speak with Orihime and she had known about her feelings long enough to know to look for them now instead of just seeing it as a hopeless unrequited love. She wanted to admit her own feelings here and now but at the same time she wanted it to be a private moment between them so that she could convey how she truly felt without feeling embarrassed with others around witnessing it.

"I'm going to get going, Orihime." Uryu said and gave Tatsuki one last look.

She watched him leave with a confused expression on her face from his reaction and only faintly noticed Chad take his leave as well. "What's Uryu's problem?"

"He might not like that you're a soul reaper." Orihime said sadly and looked back towards him.

"Well good news for him then, I'm not a soul reaper." Tatsuki said. "I'm just wearing a shihakusho because it's easier to move in then my uniform. It's also an odd time of day to be wearing a school uniform."

"I guess it is." Orihime chuckled.

"Come on, I'll walk you home." Tatsuki said then smirked. "Unless you'd rather fly, I wouldn't mind bringing you home like that."

"Walking's fine." Orihime said with a smile.

The two started off through the park they were in with a short silence before Orihime asked, "Was that really a zanpakutou?"

"Yeah," Tatsuki said. "A few months ago when I was possessed by a hollow a part of it was left inside of me when you destroyed it and it fed off of Ichigo's soul reaper powers and formed a fake zanpakutou but my own spirit and reiatsu made it real. At least that's how Honoban explained it to me so I don't know if there was anything else that took part in the transition. I just know that Honoban and I are a team and together we can take on anything and win."

Tatsuki met her eyes and found her concern making her state, "I'll never let anyone harm you again. I'll protect you like I promised to in middle school. You won't ever have to worry."

"I'm not worried about myself, Tatsuki." Orihime said. "I'm worried about you."

"It's not necessary." Tatsuki said. "Come watch me train with Yoruichi sometime. I'll show you that you don't have to worry about me."

"If you say it with that much determination then I believe you." Orihime said. "I didn't even see you take out those hollows so I know you have to be much stronger now."

"So don't worry about my safety." Tatsuki said reassuringly.

Orihime smiled at her and they fell into a rather short silence, "What are you doing tonight, Tatsuki?"

"Well I have to go home to get an earful and grounded." Tatsuki said with a chuckle. "It's been over two weeks since I've been home and my mom didn't even know what was going on."

"Oh, I was going to ask if you wanted to come over for a bit." Orihime said.

"I'm not really in a rush to go home." Tatsuki said with a smile.

Orihime brightened and walked a step faster than before to show her eagerness and Tatsuki easily matched her stride with the same eagerness if not more but she wasn't willing to break into a run just to get there and say the three words that were already trying to get past her lips. She wanted to confess then take Orihime's lips but at the same time she didn't want to get to ahead of herself. All she wanted was a nice quiet night after her long painful day making her dread going home even more and considered putting it off even more and spending the night at Orihime's apartment. The thought made a smile form on her face and she considered asking if it would be alright but she didn't want to impose too much at the moment especially since she knew Orihime wouldn't react well to the sight of the scars that the night sky thankfully hid it well enough for her.

The closer they got to Orihime's home the more nervous she became and was just thankful that they didn't see anyone on the street considering she what was wearing and the fact that she wore two swords on her sash. She was at least relieved in knowing that she could get out of sight easily enough no matter the situation but she knew she couldn't leave Orihime in an awkward spot but had never carried anyone while using flash step and wasn't sure if she could do it. Tatsuki held her hands in a fist feeling the scars covering her whole hand and knew that they covered most of her arms also.

By the time they reached Orihime's apartment Tatsuki almost wanted to find a way to keep her scars hidden and recalled that Yoruichi had said they'd be treated that night but after the day ended she had completely forgotten to ask about it so she still had no idea who could treat her wounds and what could even be done to treat them. She wondered what the treatment was exactly and if it would improve the look of the scars, if that were even possible. Whenever she looked at them she doubted anything could ever be done about them.

They got to the door and Orihime unlocked it and they both entered in a small silence. Orihime turned on a light and removed her shoes while Tatsuki did the same then removed the bag from her sash since she had been too nervous to do that on the way and bring to any attention to her arms at the time. She put the bag down then removed her zanpakutou and wondered what she should do with them but before she could decide they pulsed in her hands and Honoban spoke in her mind, _'Call me when you need me.'_

The swords disappeared with a slight flash of a flame leaving her speechless and wondering why she hadn't considered that she could have done something like that when she could easily summon Honoban to her side at any time. A smile formed on her face at the knowledge and knew that Honoban would always be with her now and he would be right there when she needed him. She entered the apartment already knowing that Orihime was making tea for them so she walked to the dining area but didn't sit at the table but went past it to where Orihime kept a shrine for Sora.

She smiled at the picture and said, "Thanks for taking care of me for the past two weeks and I'm sorry for just running off like I did."

"Did you say something?" Orihime asked while she entered the room.

Tatsuki looked over at her with a smile and said, "No, it was nothing."

She walked to the table and took a seat at the table and smiled at Orihime, who returned the smile instantly. They held each other's smile and gaze until the water boiled for the tea and they said nothing to each other in that time but when Orihime went to get the tea Tatsuki knew that her scars couldn't be hidden under the table anymore like she had done since she sat down. She looked at them under the table nervously and wondered just how Orihime would react to them when she saw them or when she found out there were others as well. In the minutes she had to herself she wondered how to tell Orhime that they were there.

Orihime returned and placed a cup in front of Tatsuki and she smiled weakly in thanks before starting, "Orihime, when I was fighting against Aizen and even Yoruichi I got pretty beat up. My hands are pretty bad."

"Show me." Orhime said and Tatsuki obliged and avoided her eyes.

"These aren't the only burns I have either." Tatsuki admitted. "I used my shikai to sear a wound shut so I wouldn't bleed to death."

"This was done by your own reiatsu?" Orihime asked placing a hand on her hand gently.

"I couldn't control it at the time and I was pushing myself well past my limit when my hands were burned." Tatsuki said. "When I closed the wound I had no other choice at the time. I would have bled to death before anyone got to me since I was on my own against Aizen. At the time I was such an idiot and doubted my own abilities which only led to my own weakness and my loss."

Orihime watched her for a moment before saying, "I can treat this for you."

Tatsuki looked at her with surprise, "You can?"

"Yes," Orihime said with a smile and part of her hairpins broke off and the light from it moved above her hands and created a small barrier above them. "Aizen taught me something I didn't know about my powers. He told me that it's not just the power to heal but the power to deny something's existence. I can take away the scars by rejecting their existence."

"That's pretty scary." Tatsuki said.

"You think so?" Orihime asked with a smile. "I never thought it was."

"Somehow I knew you'd say that." Tatsuki said with a laugh but didn't move her gaze away from her arms. The burns were fading away leaving unscarred skin and no pain from them like neither had ever been there before. "I didn't think something like this was even possible."

The burns disappeared and the barrier disappeared but the two lights didn't return to Orihime's hairpins, "Is there anything else you want me to heal?"

"My chest, if you don't mind." Tatsuki said.

"I don't mind at all." Orihime said. "Where is it?"

"It's from my waist to shoulder." Tatsuki said hesitantly.

The two lights went there next and created the barrier startling Tatsuki a little less than the first time but it still made her feel a little odd but it was forgotten when her pain began to fade away from there too. When the barrier disappeared this time the lights went back to Orihime's hairpins and it returned to its original form. "That's a pretty amazing ability to have."

"I'm very grateful for it." Orhiime said with a happy smile.

Tatsuki returned her smile and began drinking her tea still in disbelief that her burns were healed like it was nothing at all. Her gaze remained on her hands for a long time while she sat there and hardly even noticed the time go by until Orihime spoke, "Tatsuki, do you mind if I ask you something?"

"Not at all, Orihime." Tatsuki replied and met her eyes.

"Why did you get involved in all this?" She asked.

"I wanted to protect you like I used to." Tatsuki said. "And besides, how could I just sit back while you were in danger? There's no way I could just ignore that when you mean so much to me."

Orihime blushed at her words and Tatsuki knew it was time to say it, "I love you, Orihime. I have for a long time now."

Her blush intensified and she said nothing so Tatsuki reached over and claimed her hand with a warm smile making Orihime turn an even deeper red. Tatsuki brought her gaze away from her in hopes of letting her relax a little but kept the girl's hand in her own, unwilling to let it go. "Tatsuki, I've always been in love with you. You were always so strong no matter what the situation was you could always come out of it. I admired you from the moment I set eyes on you but these past few months I was so terrified of losing you or seeing you get hurt by another hollow that I tried to keep my distance from you to protect you. I didn't want to risk not being strong enough to protect you."

"I can protect myself now so you don't have to worry about that." Tatsuki said. "I'm strong enough to protect both of us."

Orihime got up from her seat and walked over to her and placed her hand on Tatsuki's cheek then took her lips for their first kiss. It was simple but long and made Tatsuki feel like nothing could ever be more right in her life so the kiss was left at its simplicity. They parted and looked deep into the others eyes before sharing the same kiss again. When it finished Tatsuki rose from her seat and took Orihime in her arms properly to hold her like she had wanted to do for so long now but never had the courage to do so before. She held her close to her body and felt completely content and she could tell that Orihime felt the exact same way because she didn't move an inch or shift the embrace at all so they just stood there holding one another with a firm grip.

Tatsuki enjoyed this moment more than anything else she had ever experienced before but achieving shikai was a close second and she couldn't deny that. When Tatsuki achieved her shikai she felt that she could finally protect Orihime again but holding her in her arms now made her feel like nothing could ever go wrong. She nuzzled her face into Orihime's neck and hair feeling her heart race for the girl in her arms making her want this moment to last forever. "Tatsuki, please tell me this isn't a dream."

"It's not a dream." Tatsuki said with a chuckle. "I'm really here, this is really happening, and I'm not going to disappear again."

Despite saying it because she knew Orihime needed to hear it she said it more for her own sake to bring reality to the situation for herself as well because the last thing she wanted was to wake up in the Rukon district again but after the day that she had and all that she felt during the day she knew it had to be real though putting voice to it made her feel more at ease. She pulled away from Orihime and took her lips again for another kiss and this one was a bit more heated than the first two.

Orihime's grip on Tatsuki tightened a little making them go further with the kiss for a moment before stopping with warm smiles. Tatsuki regretfully let Orihime go and asked, "Is there anything you want to do?"

"I'm happy with anything you want to do but we have school tomorrow so we shouldn't be up to late." Orihime said.

"And here I was hoping it was the week end." Tatsuki chuckled.

"It's still technically the weekend." Orihime said.

"Then I'll still treat it like the weekend." Tatsuki said and lowered herself to pick up Orihime and held her in a seated position. Orihime blushed profusely down at Tatsuki before taking her lips again for a quick kiss. They separated from the kiss and Tatsuki looked deep into Orihime's beautiful eyes, "Where to?"

"Anywhere you want to take me." Orihime replied.

"Well that could be anywhere." Tatsuki said with a smile. "Is there anywhere specific you would like to go?"

"I want you to take me to bed," Orihime admitted causing a blush to grown on both girls cheeks and she looked away. "I've always wanted you to be my first."

"I'm happy that you feel that way but don't you think it's a bit soon?" Tatsuki asked. "I'd like to take it slow if you don't mind."

"That's fine with me." Orihime said warmly and took her lips again for a long and more passionate kiss then the ones they shared before.

Tatsuki blushed even more when she felt Orihime's tongue in her mouth but held no complaints about the action finding no reason to protest it. Orhime pulled herself closer to Tatsuki and eagerly explored her mouth and in her eagerness they found a familiar lust for the other. It was something Tatsuki had tried desperately to keep in check but now found her control straining and she began to understand that her action in picking Orihime up in her arms likely stirred this in the other girl as well and now they were both aroused.

The kiss came to an end and they looked into each other's eyes with a slight pant. They shared a smile before Tatsuki said. "It might be better if we found a more comfortable place to make out."

"As long as I'm in your arms I'm happy." Orihime said.

"You can be in my arms whenever you want to be." Tatsuki said. "I'm always willing to hold you."

"Can you hold me all night?" Orihime asked.

"Of course," Tatsuki said. "But I'm going to have to get my things for school at some point though it would be better to do that now rather than in the morning when I'll be seen easier. If I use flash step I can make it home and back faster."

"Alright," Orihime said sadly and took her lips again for a quick kiss before Tatsuki lowered her to the ground but didn't let her go just yet.

The last thing she wanted to do right now was let her go so she continued to hold her close and closed her eyes while bringing her arms up to her back and nuzzling her face in her beloved's neck. She sighed with contentment and felt a sense of happiness she didn't know before and it was definitely not something she wanted to lose. It was exactly what she had been so willing to fight for and it was worth the pain she went through on the way to this moment. If she had to do everything all over again she would without even a single thought of hesitation but she would be stronger than she had been when she redid everything and she would not doubt herself anymore. She couldn't afford that anymore, not when their feelings were known to each other.

Her love for Orihime continued to grow with each passing second and even if she dreaded letting go of her she pried herself from the embrace and met Orihime's eyes with an almost pained smile, "I want to just stay here and not move but I should really go get my stuff."

"Alright," Orihime replied. "I'll be here."

"Yeah," Tatsuki said with a smile. "And I'll be back."

Orihime smiled at her and Tatsuki walked to the door to leave but when she saw the bag with her uniform in it she realised that her stuff wasn't even at her house it was Urahara's shop which wasn't too far from the school so it was possible that they just left a little earlier the next morning so she could get it then instead of leaving now. She looked back to Orihime and said, "I just remembered that all my school stuff is at Urahara's shop so I can get it tomorrow morning on the way to school. We'd just have to leave a bit earlier than usual."

"That's fine." Orihime said brightly.

Tatsuki walked back over to her while asking, "What do you want to do now?"

"I just want to be in your arms tonight." Orihime replied.

"Then you will be." Tatsuki smirked a little and picked Orihime up bridal style. "Shall I take you to bed?"

Orihime burned with a blush at the action and the question before she nervously nodded. Tatsuki smiled and brought her to her bedroom though she had absolutely no intention of occupying their night with intimacy. She just wanted to hold and kiss Orihime until she fell asleep then hold her until she herself fell asleep with the girl she loved in her arms. The thought warmed her heart and she knew that was what she wanted to do tonight and if things escalated a little she was fine with it even if she wanted their relationship to go at a slow pace. She didn't mind doing whatever Orihime wanted at all even if she wasn't exactly ready for it yet.

Tatsuki stopped in front of Orihime's bed to ask, "Straight to bed or do you want to change into something to sleep in?"

"I'll change." Orhime said a little nervously so Tatsuki let her down.

Orihime smiled and went to her dresser while Tatsuki started untying her sash so she could just sleep in the shitagi alone with the sash like she had done for the past two weeks. She undid the sash letting her hakama fall to the ground while her shitagi and kosode fell open. Rather than focus purely on getting ready for bed she let her hand run along her torso from waist to shoulder where Aizen had cut her. The thought of her scars being gone was odd though she was happy about it. She couldn't wrap her mind on how Orihime had 'rejected their existence' and healed them like they had never happened in the first place. The more she thought about it the more she wondered what else Orihime could do with this powers and where their limits were. "Tatsuki, do you need-"

Tatsiki looked over curiously and caught a deep blush before the girl looked away. Orihime's voice brought her away from her curiosity so she quickly removed her kosode and tied her shitagi tightly so it wouldn't fall open. She picked up the rest of her clothes and folded them at quick pace before looking back at Orihime with a smile and found she still had a blush on her face even though she wasn't looking at her. Tatsuki walked over to her and draped her arms around her and asked, "Are you nervous about something?"

"No," Orihime said but her voice said the opposite, she wasn't ready for intimacy either and that put Tatsuki at complete ease. "I just wasn't expecting you to undress like that."

"I thought we were getting ready for bed." Tatsuki said.

"If that's what you want." Orihime said nervously and looked over.

Tatsuki smiled at her with minor amusement and quickly shifted her so she could pick her up again. Orihime giggled at the treatment and lost her nervousness at the sight of clothes on Tatsuki. She was brought back to the bed and laid down gently while Tatsuki propped herself over the other girl and began kissing her gently on the lips for a long time before she moved her kisses to her neck without putting much thought into the action until a moan passed Orihime's lips making her stop and look at her. The girl's blush increased at the attention she received for it, "It felt really nice."

"Want me to keep going?" Tatsuki asked.

"Yeah." Orihime replied shyly and wrapped her arms around Tatsuki's lower back and pulled her closer. "Kiss me more."

Tatsuki didn't need to be told twice and got to it immediately, placing kisses up and down Orihime's neck and eventually undoing the top two buttons on her pajama shirt to gain access to more skin for her lips to kiss. There were no complaints and only soft moans telling her to keep going and she did that without pause until she felt Orihime grip her shitagi making her stop and look up, "Is something wrong, Orihime?"

"If you keep going I'm not going to want you to stop." Orihime said nervously.

Tatsuki smiled and took her lips for a quick kiss before sitting up, "Sorry, I guess I got a little carried away. I'll turn off the lights then we'll go to bed, alright?"

"Alright," Orihime said with a smile.

Tatsuki returned the smile happily and left the bed to turn off the lights quickly since she was exhausted after her day. When the task was done she got under the covers with Orihime and wrapped her arm around Orihime's back making her cuddle up with a small giggle. Tatsuki placed a kiss on Orihime's forehead, "I love you so much, Orihime."

"I love you too, Tatsuki." Orihime replied happily.

Tatsuki closed her eyes and found herself falling asleep and easily did in a matter of minutes after laying down. She dreamt of nothing the entire night proving the intensity of her exhaustion and how much she needed sleep and a few restful days though she knew that wasn't very likely to happen. Her sleep was undisturbed even when an alarm went off in the room she didn't even hear it at all and found it hard to wake up even to the smell of food and Orihime's soft voice. It took a lot to get her up the next morning.


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer::I own nothing but half the idea. lol**

**Chapter 17: Showing off**

Tatsuki walked to Urahara's shop with Orihime by her side and a headache from her return to school after her disappearance and was nearly late because she had overslept that morning. Her return caused a bit of a commotion with her friends only for it to increase when Chizuru asked if she found the courage to ask out Orihime yet. The whole day was hectic because of it but she still found time to pull Chizuru aside to thank her for what she said and explain in short what had happened after she attacked Aizen. She had received an angered scolding for that before being informed that Chizuru had made no move on Orihime which had been surprising to many people.

The day had been loud and she received many questions from her classmates and even Ichigo and his friends showed their concern and found that Chad had said nothing to Ichigo about the previous night's incident and figured it might be for the best so she kept quiet about it too. Aside from what seemed like endless questions the day went rather smoothly for her and after classes let out she went to Urahara's shop like she did every day after school before she lost control of her reiatsu in class. After that had happened she didn't leave the shop except to protect Karakua and to go home the night before though she didn't end up doing that and the guilt from that weighted on her mind now more than the night before since Orihime was all that was on her mind when she found her fighting the hollows.

They made the walk with conversation about the day and Tatsuki's usual training with Yoruichi and she explained how she wanted to eventually join the second squad and was hoping to demonstrate her abilities to both Captain Ukitake as well as Captain Soi Fong though she didn't know when that would take place. The more she spoke of her training the more eager she was for it and Orihime was going to watch her train like she had done with her karate though she understood that Orihime was still concerned for her safety and wanted to be sure that she could look out for herself against any hollow that could show up.

She was willing to prove to all three of them that she was both strong enough to handle herself and she was good enough for squad two when she became a soul reaper. Tatsuki was determined to prove her worth so she wouldn't be excluded from these things anymore and so that she could help everyone. She didn't want to replace Ichigo now that he had lost his powers and she had gained her own but she doubted that his absence meant nothing to their overall strength so she would do her best to fill the gap that was made.

They arrived at the store and found it empty making her curious as to why it was unmanned even at this hour. Tatsuki and Orihime entered the store and made their way further in where they heard voices down the hall so they went to see who it was. When they got to the door it was opened for them and Tatsuki found two captains and Rukia having tea with Yoruichi and Urahara. Yoruichi let them in and said, "This is the one I've been telling you about Soi Fong."

"I have no time for humans." She said coldly.

"You'll want to make time for her." Yoruichi said. "On her first day of training she managed to manifest a zanpakutou and within five days with it she achieved a shikai. She's also managed to use a bankai against Aizen even if it was a fluke."

"Well I'd like to see a demonstration of what you've accomplished." Captain Ukitake said. "It is why we're here after all."

Yoruichi looked at Tatsuki and said, "Go change then meet us where we usually train."

Tatsuki nodded and went to Yoruichi's room to change into her shihakusho before summoning her zanpakutou in her hands and sliding them under her sash while wondering what she would have to do to show her worth to them. Whatever it was she was confident that she could impress them even with the weights Yoruichi had placed on her that morning. They weren't as heavy as the ones she had before but they would still slow her down so she hoped that she wouldn't have to prove her speed while the weights were actively slowing her down.

She left Yoruichi's room and walked down the hall at a quick pace while her mind raced and she wondered what she was supposed to do and if she would have to fight against Yoruichi again though after their last fight she hoped that she wouldn't have to do that again. They had come too close to killing one another that she feared if they did it again the fight might actually get out of hand to the point one of them was gravely wounded again. The day before when they sparred it wasn't an actual fight so they used restraints, Tatsuki barely used her shikai and Yoruichi hadn't used that technique she had used before that she called shunko.

Tatsuki got to the trap door and opened it before using flash step to get to where she normally trained and found the others waiting for her though Captain Soi Fong seemed very short on patients. She looked at the small captain and wondered if Yoruichi had made her move on her yet or if they resolved anything. Taking into account what had occurred over the past two weeks she found it rather unlikely making her feel a little saddened for Yoruichi since she knew how much her mentor cared for Soi Fong.

She walked the short distance over to them while Yoruichi spoke to her, "For a warm up why not spar with Rukia for a bit."

"Sure," Tatsuki said and met her friend's eyes. "Don't hold back on me, Rukia."

"I wasn't planning on going easy on you." Rukia said while walking forward.

She came to a stop and they both unsheathed their weapons and took their stance. Tatsuki took a deep breath and waited for the first sign of attack but it didn't come so she made her move. She ran at Rukia and attacked her with only one of her swords knowing it would be blocked giving her an easy opportunity to stab her with the other one but it wasn't taken since this was just a warm up after all and she had no intention of harming Rukia too much.

Rukia remained on the defense for a while before she countered and took the offense by force with strong attacks informing Tatsuki that this was being taken more seriously so she too took it up a notch. She blocked Rukia's attack and thrust her other sword at her but it was avoided. Rukia jumped back and starting chanting something quickly before pointing at Tatsuki. The moment she said 'bakudo' she knew it was something she needed to avoid at all cost despite not knowing what it was.

Tatsuki used flash step to both avoid the attack and cut along the length of Rukia's arm leaving a long and shallow wound. She stopped behind her with her guard raised but didn't expect much else knowing that fighting with that wound would be very difficult to do. As predicted Rukia lowered her guard immediately to check her wound rather than continue their fight.

Even though Rukia had held back she found herself rather disappointed in the match since she had expected more of a fight from her. Tatsuki looked to Yoruichi hoping that this wasn't all that she had to do to prove her worth but when she met the woman's eyes she only found a smirk that told her that they were far from done. She brought her gaze back to Rukia to find she had taken up her guard again but held a different stance this time, "I hope your done warming up. Dance, Sodo no Shiriyuki."

Tatsuki brought up her guard and watched Rukia do the same with her shikai. She had to take a moment to admire the blade even though she knew it was a mistake and that was proven the moment Rukia used flash step to attack her. Tatsuki saw every move she made and blocked the attack easily with both her swords with a smirk. She forced Rukia's zanpakutou away from her while separating her swords, calling out to her own zanpakutou.

Rukia jumped back immediately to put distance between them but Tatsuki was right after her with an attack. Their blades met and steam rose from Rukia's blade as if it were melting and with the reaction she had Tatsuki knew she had an advantage but she wasn't about to use it just yet. She forced Rukia back and waited for her next move making her point clear that her shikai was powerful enough to harm Rukia's. Their standstill didn't last long and soon Rukia was making her move by shifting her zanpakutou so the tip of the blade faced the ground while holding her wrist, "First dance, White moon."

Tatsuki's eyes widened when the air around her became ice cold and she knew she needed to move away from the area and did so as fast as she could and put a huge distance between herself and Rukia, just barely escaping being encased in a pillar of ice. She looked at it with surprise and knew that the best way for her to win would be to stay close enough that these attacks couldn't be made. The moment she came to this conclusion she sensed Rukia behind her ready to attack so she turned to face her with her guard raised, "That's pretty impressive, but I've got something for you as well."

"How thoughtful." Rukia replied and attacked Tatsuki again.

Their blades locked and they met each other with full force, "I should warn you, Rukia my shikai is very dangerous."

"So is mine." Rukia said and took the opportunity to throw Tatsuki off guard and cut through her shoulder.

Tatsuki felt a chill run through her body while the skin around the wound numbed from the cold. The fact that Rukia though that her shikai's cold would stop her was amusing for Tatsuki and to taunt her she brought her blade close to her wound to thaw her skin, "Is that it?"

Rukia's eyes narrowed and she took up another stance, "Next dance,-"

Tatsuki cut her off with another attack before she could finish not wanting to chance another near escape from whatever ice attack was coming at her next. She wasn't willing to see if the flames of her shikai could stop it fast enough nor was she willing to put herself in that position, not if she wanted to impress Captain Soi Fong and make her feel that she was worth the time she was taking out of her day. It was something Tatsuki really appreciated so she refused to disappoint anyone watching. That was the last thing she wanted to do so it was not something she would allow.

The two continued to clash swords with one another and each time Tatsuki's shikai melted Rukia's bit by bit but she knew that when their swords parted any damage done was repaired with the surrounding cool of the blade just like any damage done to her shikai repaired itself though she wondered what was done faster. They both jumped away to put some distance between them and allow their swords to mend from the consistent attacks of the opposing element.

Tatsuki took her stance while Rukia took the same as before to making Tatsuki quickly swing her sword towards her while saying, "Muchi."

The flame of her zanpakutou shot out like a whip and wrapped around Rukia's zanpakutou, cancelling out the attack and melting the ice covering her sword. Rukia tried to pull her sword free or pull Tatsuki forward but with the weight she wore she didn't move at all. A smirk formed on her face and she shifted her footing then pulled her sword back which pulled Rukia out of the air and right to her. When she was more than halfway Tatsuki released Rukia's sword and rushed forward using flash step and cut through her side before she could catch herself.

She came to a stop in the air and looked back and found Rukia on the ground clutching her wound while Orihime rushed to her side. Tatsuki used flash step to join them and let her shikai fade away acknowledging the end of the match. Orihime healed Rukia's wounds immediately while expressing her concern before giving Tatsuki an upset look telling her that she went too far. She felt a twinge in her chest at the look before glancing over at Yoruichi to find her walking over next and placed a hand on her shoulder and said, "You did well but you went a bit too far with that last attack."

"I know," Tatsuki said "It was the first time I tried that and I cut too deep."

"You're still learning but you can't have those concerns or they'll get you killed in a real fight." Yoruichi said confidently. "Your next fight will be real but I can handle your shikai so don't hold back."

"I was afraid I'd have to fight you again." Tatsuki said. "With what happened the last time… I don't want that to happen again."

"It won't, I know what to expect from your shikai this time." Yoruichi said. "I won't underestimate you again."

She placed her hand on her chest to remove the weight, "You're doing good so far but fighting Rukia isn't enough to show your real speed. Are you ready?"

Tatsui brought her gaze to Rukia and said, "Can I have a minute to see if she's alright?"

"Yeah," Yoruichi said.

Tatsuki walked over to Rukia and sheathed her zanpakutou. She crouched down beside her and found she was still wincing in pain from the wound she had received. "Are you alright, Rukia?"

"I'll be fine." She winced. "I wasn't expecting something like that."

"It was a new trick." Tatsuki said. "I haven't mastered it yet."

"I really underestimated you." Rukia said.

"I told you not to go easy on me." Tatsuki said and stood up. "Now, I've got a tougher fight."

"Tatsuki, wait." Orihime said and the same small lights she had witnessed the night before reappeared to tend the wound she received.

They shared a smile and Tatsuki walked back to Yoruichi, "I'm ready."

Yoruichi nodded and unsheathed her zanpakutou and cooled her eyes telling Tatsuki that there would be no slack at all so she unsheathed her sword and walked forward to the woman whom she respected more than anyone else she had ever known. They nodded at each other and went right into attacking each other with flash step disregarding their stance since this was still a warm up for them. This was easy for anyone to see since Tatsuki hadn't used her shikai and Yoruichi had no need for shunko to counter its flame. Their fight had yet to truly start and both needed to put their minds onto their fight instead of the person they wanted to impress, which coincidently was the same person, though they sought to impress the woman in different ways.

They continued their small game putting distance between themselves and the spectators before putting space between the other with smirks. Their practice was over, Tatsuki unleashed her shikai and Yoruici used shunko and said, "Both our abilities have their limits, Tatsuki. But this isn't a matter of who can last longer but who can end it faster. We both know what your shikai can do to you so let's make this quick."

Tatsuki nodded and clearly saw a shift in Yoruichi's position and jumped away in time to avoid the attack. The blast of Yoruichi's attack left a crater in the ground making her realise the true danger of the technique and she understood immediately why she had refused to teach it to her. Yoruichi was right after her again and Tatsuki couldn't retreat so she attacked. Their reiatsu clashed against the other's on the impact causing it to materialize and flair around them. Both powers were aggressive and covered as much area around them as possible without letting up in the slightest until they parted from their clash.

Their reiatsu vanished around them while they slid to a stop in the air above the crater below them. Tatsuki let out a long breath to refocus her reiatsu to stabilize it then attacked her again. Their reiatsu clashed for a second time and Tatsuki knew that this fight wouldn't be won with strength but rather with speed. She pulled away from Yoruichi and used flash step to get away and move around her despite the fact that her opponent was much faster than she was and it wasn't long before they were side by side but Tatsuki still had her zanpakutou.

She broke flash step to attack her getting only a scratch in but it wasn't enough for the fight to find its conclusion. They were soon using flash step near constantly in their boundless fight and only left it to attack the other leaving injuries with each attack. With the rate they fought they quickly tired themselves out and were soon reaching their limits. Tatsuki felt the strain her zanpakutou was under and knew she was pushing it but she wasn't content to call it quits just yet.

Tatsuki readied herself for the next attack she planned to make against Yoruichi and when they broke out of flash step again she made her move. Her first attack was blocked sending out another wave of reiatsu around them and she started her second attack but that too was stopped just as easily. Both were panting heavily in their tire and when Tatsuki looked into Yoruichi's eyes she knew the fight was done no matter how much she wanted to continue proving her worth to Captain Soi Fong, both were exhausted now.

Her zanpakutou returned to its sealed state and Yoruichi's reiatsu stabilised around her hand and they dropped their guard. They both lowered to the ground to walk back to the spectators while they walked towards them as well to shorten the distance. Their walk was quiet at first until Yoruichi smiled, "You hooked up with Orihime already haven't you?"

Tatsuki blushed deeply at the observation, "Yeah, so what?

"It's just amusing." Yoruichi said with a chuckle. "How'd you do it?"

"She asked me why I got involved in everything and told her it was to protect her because I loved her." Tatsuki said simply with a shrug. "Everything after that went well."

Yoruichi sighed, "If only it were that easy."

"Maybe it is." Tatsuki said. "Before she leaves get her alone for a minute and just tell her straight out."

"I never thought a human would give me advice." Yoruichi said.

"And I never thought I could be this strong." Tatsuki said with a laugh. "I'm really grateful to you, Yoruichi. You've done so much for me and even brought me back form the dead. I can't say anyone's ever done any of that for me."

Yoruichi fell silent for a moment before speaking again, "Do you regret anything that you've achieved with this training?"

"Not a single thing." Tatsuki said and met her eyes with a confident look in her eyes. "If even a single thing were different I wouldn't be here right now as I am. A single change could easily have cost me my life two weeks ago and I'm not about to wish for that. Do you regret training me?"

"I'm proud of having you as my little protégée." Yoruichi said.

Tatsuki smiled at the statement but their conversation was at its end with the others so close. Orihime was rushing over to them to make sure that they were alright and treat their wounds for them and to jump right into Tatsuki's arms. They shared a quick kiss before Orihime started with their wounds receiving thanks from both when they were healed. When the soul reapers arrived Yoruichi looked to Captain Soi Fong, "Are you impressed with her?"

"It would be more impressive if you weren't holding back." Captain Soi Fong said. "No one can withstand a shunko at your level let alone a human."

"She's only had two weeks of training, Soi Fong." Yoruichi said. "I'd say that's impressive enough."

"That's all there is." Captain Soi Fong said coldly and gave Tatsuki a look that was almost a glare. "Do you honestly believe you can be accepted into squad two with just that?"

"No," Tatsuki said honestly. "I'm nowhere close to being finished with my training. I'll train under Yoruichi as long as she's willing to have me."

Yoruichi chuckled but didn't respond with an answer but rather looked at her and said, "You should go rest, Tatsuki. Your body hasn't finished recovering yet. I'll take care of the rest."

Tatsuki was taken aback at the lack of response but nodded and allowed Orihime to lead her away and Rukia joined them as which stated that it was in the hands of the captains and she had no place there. She let out a sigh at her pressing tire from her fight and rubbed her eyes hoping that she could continue to fight it long enough to get home, "I really wish it was the weekend."

"You're really exhausted, aren't you?" Rukia asked. "I felt it in your zanpakutou while we fought."

"I feel like I'm half dead." Tatsuki replied. "It's been like this ever since I got back into my body. I barely made it back to it in time but I don't remember entering it again."

"This could also be because of what you did against Aizen." Rukia said. "If it is then this feeling might not go away."

"Perfect." Tatsuki said sarcastically. "I think I'm just going to take it easy for a while and see if that helps."

"That's a good idea." Rukia said.

"Yeah, getting grounded doesn't seem so bad now." Tatsuki said with a laugh. "Guess I should actually go home tonight."

"Yeah, you're mom's very worried about you." Orihime said.

"I was going to go home after Yoruichi tells me what's going to happen next." Tatsuki said. "I guess I'll call her while I wait though."

"She's not going to be too happy." Orihime said.

"I know, but I'll think of something to say because there's no way she'll accept the truth." Tatsuki said.

"You shouldn't talk openly about these things to others." Rukia said. "It isn't good if too many people get involved in these matters."

"I already know that," Tatsuki said recalling how eager Keigo was to get involved in these things. "I don't want anyone else involved in this. It's too dangerous for them."

"That's why I never wanted you involved in this." Orihime said.

"Tatsuki just proved that she can handle any hollow that could come to Karakura." Rukia said. "I don't think anyone will have to worry about her safety."

"I know you're right, but I can't help but worry." Orihime said. "She is my girlfriend after all."

"So that's why you didn't go home last night, Tatsuki." Rukia said with a sly smile. "To be at such a young age and still delve into such lewd things and with such an innocent girl too."

"Oh shut up, we just kissed a little before going to sleep." Tatsuki said angrily.

"A little?" Orihime asked before looking at Tatsuki. "If that was 'a little' then what's 'a lot' to you, Tatsuki?"

"I was trying to be discreet, Orihime." Tatsuki said.

"It didn't work." Rukia said with a laugh. "But she did run right into your arms a few minutes ago too."

"Yeah," Tatsuki said with a laugh and took Orihime's hand. "I guess there's no hiding it."

"Not in the slightest." Rukia replied.

Tatsuki let out a sigh and looked at the nearing ladder with a sense of dread for climbing it or even using her abilities to get up since she still felt exhausted like she had all day but her match against Yoruichi had all but drained her. Despite wanting to spend the rest of the evening with Orihime she knew she would just pass out as easily as she had the night before if not easier and she knew that her mother's reaction to her going home would just get worse the more she put it off.

When they got to the ladder she picked up Orihime and brought her as close to the ceiling as she could go and let her take hold of the ladder from there before taking hold of it herself feeling completely lightheaded and weak. She gave Orihime a good lead before starting up and dreading the dark part of it but climbed the remainder as fast as she could while keeping her mind on other things to keep her consciousness from waning even more either from the darkness or the climb but both affected her immensely.

It felt like an eternity in the darkness before she reached the top and found Orihime was waiting to greet her with a warm smile and a hand up. Tatsuki accepted it but felt that even with the assist her body weighed a lot more than it really did despite even losing some weight from not being able to take care of herself properly and the food she had eaten in Soul Society didn't do her physical body anything making her wonder if all that she was feeling now was just malnourishment.

Orhihime led Tatsuki into the dining room and they sat down at the table to wait and were soon joined by Rukia though they didn't speak and just waited anxiously for what was to come next and in that time Tatsuki sent a text message to her mother telling her that she was alright and would be home later. Within minutes her cellphone rang and even the ringtone itself sounded like a sentencing to her so she took it in the hallway. The call was both angered and loud on her mother's side and without given a chance to speak she was scolded, grounded, and ordered home immediately despite any argument Tatsuki had on staying for a little bit longer but at that point her mother resolved to go find her and drag her home.

She had very reluctantly told her mother where she was, knowing that if she was dragged home then she would at least be driven rather than having to walk across town. There was also the fact that most of the yelling would be done in the car instead of when they got in the house and she could go to sleep a lot sooner which was another plus for her. When the phone call was over she returned to the dining room and rested her head on the table with a minor headache and soon fell asleep.

It wasn't long before she was being woken up by Orihime to find Rukia gone and Yoruichi sitting at the table with a bottle of sake in front of her accompanied by a small sake cup. Tatsuki rubbed her eyes with one hand, unwilling to let Orihihime's hand go, "Sorry, I'm exhausted."

"Well it's a good thing Soi Fong didn't see that." Yoruichi said. "She might have changed her mind about you. Even if she didn't admit it she was impressed with you, Tatsuki. Serving the second squad will still be very difficult for you but you'll be accepted. I have no doubt that you'll do very well in it and you may even acquire a high ranking position."

"That's great." Tatsuki said. "For our training-"

"We're done." Yoruichi cut her off. "There isn't anything else I can teach you until you are ready for it and you are far from it. I told you from the start that the goal with your training was for you to control your reiatsu and become strong enough to protect Karakura. You can control your reiatsu easily now even in battle and you are strong enough to protect Karakura. Your training with me is over so relax and take it easy while you still can."

Tatsuki fell silent knowing what the last part meant though Orihime was unaware, "What do you mean, while she still can?"

"You haven't told her?" Yoruichi asked but she just shook her head in response. "In order to use bankai she traded her life and from the looks of it she may not have long before her life ends."

Orihime looked at Tatsuki with a mixed expression of shock and sadness. "You've been getting weaker haven't you? Compared to before your shikai is childish and your speed has also slowed. You can't even use your shikai for as long as you could before. Even from yesterday it's diminished."

"If I'm just going to die, why did Honoban keep my body alive?" Tatsuki asked. "I don't understand what the point is."

"The point is sitting right next to you." Yoruichi said and drank her sake. "You gave up everything for Orihime and Honoban saw that. He knows your feelings and emotions very well and allowed you to have this chance so you wouldn't leave this world with regrets. You should be grateful for it and not misuse this time you have."

The three fell into silence and Orihime's grip on Tatsuki's hand tightened while Yoruichi finished her sake. While she poured another cup for herself she said, "I didn't answer your questions fully earlier, I am proud of you but I regret training you."

Tatsuki avoided the woman's gaze while she poured sake into a second sake cup and slid it in front of her. "You're legally too young but this is in celebration for earning a place in the second squad."

Tatsuki looked at the cup without care for the sake but took it anyways and drank it with even less care for the taste of the alcohol and slid the cup forward, "Thanks."

Yoruichi took the cup again and refilled it before sliding it back and removing a third cup from her jacket to fill that as well and slid it in front of Orihime before refilling her own. The next words pained everyone sitting at the table while they were spoken, "In mourning."

This time it was Tatsuki who squeezed Orihime's hand while the three drank and placed the cups down in front of them but this time no more was poured and they all just looked at their empty cups without further words for a long time. In their silence no one moved or looked at each other at all and while the minutes passed the silence grew heavier until finally Yoruichi broke it, "Tatsuki, when you pass on I will personally bring you to Soul Society have you admitted to the soul reaper academy. If their scheduling is still how I remember it you'll have off days and I'll make sure that you graduate quickly and that you won't forget Orihime."

Tatsuki didn't look up but simply nodded in response. The reassurance made her happy to know that Yoruichi wouldn't just turn her back on her and it proved even more that her trust in the woman was well placed. She brought her gaze to Orihime and found the depth of her sadness on the situation and it was the last thing she wanted to see. Tatsuki forced a smile to try and lift the mood a little but it didn't help the situation and her smile faltered completely when she heard loud voices outside the room announcing her mother's arrival.

A sigh escaped her while Yoruichi reached over and took the two sake cups and placed them out of sight beside her so that when the door was roughly forced open all that was seen was the one cup and two concern filled expressions on the two girls while the woman didn't even look over at the intrusion. "Tatsuki, where the hell have you been?"

"She was with me out of town." Yoruichi said and poured herself another cup of sake. "I've been training her in the art of swordsmanship for the past few weeks. The trip was sudden and not planned. An old acquaintance got in touch with me and requested my help with his students and it was a good opportunity for Tatsuki to experience an actual kendo dojo and train with other disciples of the art."

Tatsuki brought her gaze back to Yoruichi and wondered how well she had planned out this lie but said nothing to confirm it and just nodded while bringing her gaze back to the table. She didn't know what to say in this situation and had no clue how to tell her mother that she might not have much time left to live so she just let Yoruichi handle the situation as much as she could. "Why is this the first I've even heard of this?"

"I didn't know how you'd feel about this since it's not in an actual dojo but the basement of this shop." Tatsuki said.

"And how did the two of you meet?" She asked.

"Yoruichi's a friend of mine." Orihime said. "I introduced them a while ago when we bumped into each other one day."

"We're leaving, Tatsuki." Her mother said sternly. "Right now."

Tatsuki released Orihime's hand to take her swords and stood up finding herself lightheaded again but she did her best not to show it to the others. The only person she really wanted to hide it from was Orihime even if she already knew what was going to happen. Tatsuki didn't want her to worry any more than she already had in the past two weeks though she knew it wasn't going to be possible after what Yoruichi had said but her faith in the woman was still strong and if she said that she would make sure Orihime wouldn't be forgotten then she wouldn't be. She would become a soul reaper and she would continue to love Orihime for as long as she had consciousness.

She followed her mother out of the house but made a stop in Yoruichi's room to get her things and quickly change. Honoban disappeared like he had the night before but she knew he would be there when she needed him. Her things were quickly gathered and she left the room to find Orihime waiting outside for her so she could embrace her tightly and kiss her, "I don't want this to happen, Tatsuki. How could you just give up your life like that?"

"I was stupid and accepted things too easily rather than fight it." Tatsuki said. "If I had more confidence in the strength I had gained instead of looking at the odds things might be different now. I'm sorry, Orihime."

"I'm just grateful that death isn't the end and that it won't be the end for our relationship because I'll definitely go see you whenever I can." Orihime cried.

"I'd like to do the same as well if I can." Tatsuki said and tightened her embrace around Orihime. "I'll call you tonight, alright?"

Orihime nodded but neither girl let go for a few minutes before Tatsuki had to, "It would probably be best if my mom didn't find out about us. It'll just cause more problems and I'm not exactly in the mood to put up with them now."

They shared a quick kiss before separating and Tatsuki left the shop finding her mother waiting in the car in front of it. The two met eyes and Tatsuki knew the earful was about to come so she got into the car and braced for it but it didn't come until they were a block away and when it did Tatsuki felt the strain she was under increase. Throughout the car ride she took long deep breaths quietly and focused more on her breathing than the scolding she was receiving. She hardly even cared about the two months grounding she received because a part of her knew that she wouldn't survive that long but she was determined to live the best she could even if it meant ignoring her grounding to spend time with her friends. Tatsuki was also determined to go to the hospital to see if anything could be done to prolong her life if it were possible but before she could do any of that there was a question she needed to have answered. 'Honoban, how much longer do I have?'

_**End[ish]**_

_Honoban had given her one month since she gave her life to him leaving her just short of two weeks to enjoy her time and spend her evenings with Orihime. Tatsuki spent her days with her friends and even people she didn't often spend time with outside of school. Her actions soon caused suspicion but she never stated her coming death. When she went to the hospital the exams she took all stated that she was in good health and the pain she felt couldn't be explained assuring her that there was nothing she could do._

_Her time with Orihime was the greatest in her life and she enjoyed every minute of their quiet evenings where the topic of what was to come never came up like it didn't exist so neither one would be saddened. They spent almost every evening together and spent them in the other's arms either talking or watching a movie together. No matter if they spent the evening alone or with others they were always right by the others side and refused to shy away from exposing their feelings to others. When Tatsuki's final day came she decided to spend what was left of her time at the river with her reiatsu completely concealed so no one she knew would have to see it and it was there that her heart stopped beating. When her soul separated from her body she went to see Yoruichi._

_True to her word, Yoruichi brought Tatsuki to the soul reaper academy and trained her on her days off to make her regain what she had lost in her death and often brought Orihime with her so the two girls could spend time with one another. As the months passed Tatsuki forgot her past piece by piece but she never forgot Orihime or why the girl meant so much to her. Years passed before she graduated and received word from Yorichi that Soi Fong would accept her into squad two immediately. Her tasks were straining but she grew accustomed to them and did it all with pride even though she never had the chance to go to the human world to visit the girl she loved. She saw her in Seireitei when it was possible and their relationship only continued to grow with their love for one another._


End file.
